DENVER — On Wednesday, the City of Denver moved one step closer to purchasing a building in the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood to use for a program aimed at helping people struggling with their mental health and substance use.
City leaders and those with the program made a presentation for the potential acquisition of the building to the Denver City Council's Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee on Wednesday. The building being considered for purchase sits at 4280 North Columbine Street and is currently owned by Correctional Management LLC.
It would cost the City of Denver $3,741,875 if the purchase were approved.
"Of that, the $241,875 is for improvements that the owner will make that are contingent upon us closing," said Lisa Lumley with the Department of Finance. "Those are for life safety issues and some ADA upgrades."
"This is a bit of a strategic acquisition right now," she added. "There's one other [building] besides this that is a former community corrections facility that has the appropriate zoning and use for residential care. We know that between Roads and certain other groups in our city, we do have that need. So, I'm trying to be strategic where we can when the opportunity arises."
During Wednesday's meeting, Lumley also described the inside of the building.
"The rooms are used more like dorm rooms right now, which is how they had the number of beds, conference space, office space, kitchen," she said.
However, Lumley and other presenters made it clear that nothing is set in stone, and the City of Denver is looking to purchase the building with the idea that it can serve a variety of uses, particularly with its Roads to Recovery program.
According to the City of Denver's website, the Roads to Recovery program "supports individuals with complex mental health and substance misuse needs. Through Roads to Recovery, teams divert individuals from the criminal justice system into a city-coordinated network of intervention, treatment and rehabilitation services."
The program is an initiative under Mayor Mike Johnston's All in Mile High goal. In a statement, Johnston's office said, "Denver's Roads to Recovery program has helped connect hundreds of Denverites to long-term treatment, mental health care, and stability, delivering transformational results for the city. As we look to continue this success, Denver is considering options to expand our resources to help get people connected to mental health and substance use treatment. While these programs are still just ideas, we have committed to holding an extensive community engagement process for this site, regardless of what the city will do with it."
Lumley acknowledged that the city has not yet talked with neighbors about the potential purchase.
"I may say we have not done outreach to the community for two reasons. One, again, because Roads is not at a place yet to be able to specifically talk about those details, and for the shorter term, where I'm looking at it, to still try to occupy it, whether it's storage some other city uses that are short-term, things like that. I've already committed to Councilman [Darrell] Watson that we will work with this office to be able to work with the neighbors on whatever short-term use we may identify," Lumley said. "But that is the only reason why we really haven't done any outreach yet."
For those who've called the neighborhood home their entire lives, there are many questions they feel need answering sooner rather than later.
"It means everything. It's all I've ever known. It's all a lot of people have ever known," Alfonso Espino said of the Elyria-Swansea neighborhood. "I think a lot of people that have been here long enough would say it's never really felt like a part of the city until recently. It felt like its own little world."
Espino told Denver7 he was glad the city was working on a potential home for the Roads to Recovery program, but he worries about what it could mean should it happen.
"It's good that the city is trying to prioritize giving people much-needed services and relief, because nobody's blind to the problem," Espino said. "But I think most people here would tell you that the city tends to put these sort of institutions only in these sort of neighborhoods because they could kind of tuck away what they see as a problem, right?"
Espino feels his neighborhood needs more support.
"We don't have resources. Most people here don't have the basic needs met," he said. "We don't have basic necessities met. So, how can you put people in even more extreme circumstances that need so much more, and say that that's what you're doing for them?"
"I think that the city needs to invest into the neighborhoods in a way that actually uplifts everybody here," Espino continued. "The city likes to pit poor people against poor people, and keep us fighting amongst ourselves while they get away with not putting the investment that's needed in the long term."
The purchase of the building was voted on during Wednesday's committee meeting. Its acquisition will soon face the full city council.
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