Denver’s largest “micro-community” — a taxpayer-funded program that offers shelter to homeless people — officially opened on Monday, the culmination of a process that encountered pushback from nearby residents.
The site at 621 W. Wesley Ave., just south of the intersection Santa Fe Drive and Evans Avenue on the east side of the Platte River, consists of 60 pre-fabricated “tiny” homes and a community center fenced off from the nearby Overland Park neighborhood.
Johnston is calling the micro-community “La Paz.” Micro-communities are a key component of the mayor’s campaign, which embraces a “housing first” approach, to curb homelessness in Denver.
“We think the first step is to stabilize people with housing, and then this site will have services on-site,” Johnston said.
It took the city six months to construct the community, which will initially house roughly 50 people, some from an encampment that’s being cleared at West Colfax Avenue and Umatilla Street.
They will move into the site on Tuesday.