The Denver City Council on Monday unanimously rejected a measure to purchase a halfway house for $26.2 million.
The item, a purchase agreement with Denver 44th Avenue LLC for the property at 570 W. 44th Ave., was delayed by Councilmember Amanda Sawyer one week ago.
During the meeting, Sawyer asked members of Denver’s real estate department why the city would not purchase a property lacking a supporting appraisal.
“The answer is maybe, depending on the scenario and how close we might be to it,” Lisa Lumley, the department’s director, said. “In this instance, the appraisal for this property does not meet the criteria that we would need to move forward.”
The city’s finance department also requested the council vote against the purchase agreement, Sawyer said.
Still, Sawyer wanted to know how the non-purchase would impact the city’s community correction program. Community corrections in Denver has three departments and offers an alternative to incarceration. One of those alternatives includes halfway houses where adult felons receive supervision and treatment services in a “controlled environment before re-entering the community,” according to a city webpage.