Denver officials offered homeless people living in an encampment in Five Points that is subject to a sweep the option to move into a hotel before the cold weather moves in this weekend.

Officials gave residents of the encampment at 21st and Curtis streets a seven-day notice of the cleanup. A mayor’s office spokesperson told The Denver Gazette that 50 homeless people are being offered a shelter at a hotel.

The cleanup will likely be completed on Nov. 1, city officials said.

But Denver is about to witness its first snow of the season. The National Weather Station said a storm system will bring wintry weather to metro Denver this weekend and snow is likely across the urban corridor and plains. The NWS said residents should expect a “hard freeze” and “much colder” weather. 

“We have been working on this encampment closure for a bit, and there have also been some safety concerns over there,” a city spokesperson said.

The previous encampment across the Governor’s Mansion used three buses over a span of two days to transport people, housing 83 of them, according to Mike Johnston’s office.

“This marks real progress toward our ambitious goal to bring 1,000 unsheltered Denverites indoors by the end of the year,” Johnston said in a news release. “Providing a safe, stable place to live with wraparound support services helps address homelessness while also revitalizing our neighborhoods, enhancing quality of life, and building a more vibrant Denver for all.” 

Not everyone moved to the government-owned former Best Western hotel on Quebec Street following the Governor’s Mansion encampment sweep – because other homeless people came to the area also seeking shelter, the city said. 

The cleanup at 21st and Curtis streets is the fourth encampment sweep since Johnston took office in July. 

Johnston’s primary strategy to get people off the streets is to close encampments, move those living there into transitional housing with services, and eventually offer people permanent housing opportunities. To increase the city’s transitional housing inventory, the new mayor has pursued buying hotels, leasing units and building micro-communities, in addition to utilizing existing shelters operated by nonprofits.

The city said it has sent teams to provide supplies and services, including emergency medical services and offers to connect to behavioral health and substance misuse programs to residents of the Five Points encampment.  

City workers are also bringing portable toilets and hand washing stations, as well providing trash removal services.

Meanwhile, the city is exploring buying or leasing the 300-room DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in northeast Denver.

“Micro-communities” have also broken ground at the following locations: 1375 Elati Street; 2301 South Santa Fe Drive; 950 W. Alameda Ave.; and, 12033 E. 38th Ave. About 500 tiny units are in the pipeline for the micro-communities.