Groundbreaking Ceremony on First of its Kind Stout Street Recuperative Care Facility and Renaissance Legacy Lofts
Immediate Release
March 1, 2021
Contact:
Cathy Alderman
Chief Communications and Public Policy Officer
Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
303-312-9638
calderman@coloradocoalition.org
Denver, CO— The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless hosted a virtual Groundbreaking event on February 26th for the “first-of-its kind” Stout Street Recuperative Care Facility for people experiencing homelessness and the 98-unit Renaissance Legacy Lofts located at 2175 California Street. This mixed-use property will provide meet the immediate health care needs for 500 individuals per year through medical respite and recuperative care while creating 98 permanent supportive housing apartments for people experiencing homelessness.
"It was four years ago, but the dream goes back much longer, when we saw the extreme need for respite care for the many people experiencing homelessness who are stuck in the hospital and couldn't be safely discharged to the streets," said John Parvensky, President and CEO of Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.
The Stout Street Recuperative Care Facility will provide 75 medical respite beds on the first three floors of the building targeted to people experiencing homelessness who have been hospitalized and cannot safely be discharged to the streets or shelters due to their acute health conditions. For people experiencing homelessness, recovery “at home” is not an option, and this new facility will provide safe, dignified, and quality spaces for people to heal and stabilize while working with Coalition staff to identify long-term housing options.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coalition has worked with many partners to bring the project to fruition. "On top of all these Herculean efforts [of COVID-19 response work], I'm pleased to say that great development projects still continued during these trying times, and the Legacy Lofts is a great example of that. The solutions to homelessness is housing, and today is a major cause for celebration with the kickoff of Legacy Lofts," said Britta Fisher, Chief Housing Officer of the Denver Department of Housing Stability.
"Today is an occasion for celebration because we are taking a significant step forward in the fight to reduce and prevent homelessness," said Congresswoman Dianna DeGette in a statement. "The Legacy Lofts will provide the additional housing we so desperately need while utilizing the Coalition's holistic approach to housing stability, and the Recuperative Care Facility is especially unique as it will provide a safe space for people experiencing homelessness to heal from medical issues to rather than be releases to the streets or shelters."
District 9 Councilwoman Candi Cdebaca talked of the community’s suffering from the experience of homelessness that can be solved with projects like this: "I personally have worked directly with neighbors who have lost limbs to frostbite from living in tents, and they were discharged right back to the freezing conditions that put them in the hospital in the first place. We have unfortunately witnessed the loss of life in the absence of safe places for sick humans to recover... while this is truly a one-of-a-kind package of supports, I deeply hope that it is quickly replicated throughout the city to meet the vast need in this time of both a health and housing crisis."
Additional guest speakers included Rick Garcia of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs; and Albus Brooks, Vice President of Business Development and Public Affairs, Milender White Construction, which is the construction company for this project.
Architectural services for the project, which is designed to look like market rate housing in the Arapahoe Square neighborhood, was provided by Christopher Carvell Architects.
This $46.5 million project is funded using a unique and unprecedented variety of financing sources for a development serving people experiencing homelessness. The project is receiving funds through participation in the Denver Housing Authority’s D3 bond program.The Recuperative Care Center will utilize New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) provided by the Corporation for Supportive Housing and Colorado Growth and Revitalization Fund. The Northern Trust Company is the NMTC tax credit investor.
The City and County of Denver’s HOST department provided $4.1 million of funding for both the Recuperative Care and Legacy Lofts project. The Colorado Division of Housing also provided $3.1 million of funding for both projects. The Denver Housing Authority and Colorado Division of Housing will also provide project based Section 8 vouchers to the Legacy Lofts to assure affordability for all residents. Residents will pay 30% of their income for rent.
Private funders for this project include: Anschutz Foundation, Darrell Brown and Suzanne McNitt, The Colorado Health Foundation, Fidelity Foundation, Wag and Annalee Schorr, the Wells Fargo Foundation, Colorado ACCESS, and hundreds of individual capital donors.
Due to COVID-19, the Coalition will not host a traditional groundbreaking event but plans to keep the community informed as the project hits milestones in its development. A grand opening celebration is anticipated for the spring of 2022 should public health orders allow.
To watch the full recording, please click here.
About Colorado Coalition for the Homeless
The mission of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless is to work collaboratively toward the prevention of homelessness and the creation of lasting solutions for people experiencing and at-risk of homelessness throughout Colorado. The Coalition advocates for and provides a continuum of housing and a variety of services to improve the health, well-being and stability of those it serves. Since its founding more than 30 years ago, the organization has earned state and national recognition for its integrated healthcare, housing and service programs. The Coalition’s comprehensive approach addresses the causes of homelessness, as well as the consequences, offering critical assistance to over 20,000 individuals and families each year. Learn more at www.coloradocoalition.org.
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