Aurora’s largest homeless services project launched “way too early,” its CEO told city leaders Tuesday, saying the rushed opening left residents living amid mold, plumbing failures, and other issues inside the former hotel.

During Tuesday’s Housing, Neighborhood Services and Redevelopment Policy Committee meeting, Advance Pathways CEO Jim Goebelbecker said he didn’t think the building was ready to open when it did.

“I knew this was an old building,” he said. “In the rearview mirror, we opened way too early.”

When the campus — a former Crowne Plaza hotel at 15500 E. 40th Ave. — opened in November, officials acknowledged it was still unfinished. With winter approaching and the facility offering far more capacity than the Aurora Day Resource Center, city leaders pushed to open it as quickly as possible.

The campus, which began operating on Nov. 17, offers a low‑barrier emergency shelter that accepts anyone and encourages residents to work with case managers, pursue job training, and begin saving for permanent housing.

On its first night, the campus accommodated 162 daytime users and 176 overnight guests, a city spokesperson told The Denver Gazette in November.

Goebelbecker outlined several building issues, including mold and broken plumbing, that community members have also raised during public comment at recent council meetings.

Goebelbecker said the mold problems are largely confined to rooms on the building’s third tier, and no residents have been placed in those areas.

He explained that mold testing has been conducted throughout the facility, and all spaces used by campus guests have tested clear. The team is now removing any affected infrastructure and remodeling those sections of the building.

They have also faced the challenge of not having the appropriate resources for certain people with specific needs, he said, telling the committee a story about helping an elderly woman with a significant respiratory health issue.

“They just shouldn’t be here,” Goebelbecker said, referring to the need for special care for elderly people and people with severe medical issues. “We do our best to get them what they need with the resources and facility we have.”

The campus works on a tiered system, with three tiers that progressively offer better accommodations for people actively working toward exiting homelessness.

Currently, there are three people in the third tier, Goebelbecker said Tuesday. The low-barrier Tier One shelter sees between 300 and 350 people every night. There are another 55 people in Tier Two.

Aurora Councilmember Angela Lawson, who sits on the housing committee, said the campus opening too soon was partially the fault of councilmembers, who pushed it forward before it was ready because they wanted the space for the cold weather season.

A 70‑year‑old woman living at the Regional Navigation Campus has attended multiple City Council meetings to describe the problems she has encountered there.

“The place is terrible,” she said, adding that her belongings were stolen and nobody helped her.