Denver's housing chief says Crossroads, a 300-bed shelter, could close within a year. Here's its Council record
Cole Chandler told a committee there would be no closure without replacement beds. The Council has split on Crossroads contracts before, and the city's planned replacement site was cut in half.
Denver's Department of Housing Stability (HOST) is considering closing Crossroads, the 300-bed men's shelter at 1901 29th St. in Five Points, within the next year, department head Cole Chandler confirmed at the Council's Community Planning and Housing Committee on Tuesday, Nov. 10, Denverite reported.
"There would be no plan to close Crossroads without a plan to replace those beds," Chandler said, according to Denverite. He said the city's real estate office is looking for other sites, nothing is final, and HOST would bring more information to the Council first.
Why it matters: Crossroads is one of the city's largest shelters, about a tenth of Denver's roughly 3,000 shelter beds, and it has been full. In 2025 it averaged 100% occupancy and served 862 people, according to HOST's slides for the meeting.
Why only one year
The question came up because Crossroads' proposed contract is shorter than the others. HOST plans to hand the shelter to Urban Alchemy, the California-based nonprofit that beat the Salvation Army in a competitive process this year, under a one-year, $5,686,500 performance-based contract. Most of the other congregate shelter contracts, including Urban Alchemy's at the 48th Avenue Men's Shelter, run three years (our story).
Council member Paul Kashmann raised the question. When Chandler said the city had "identified that there are some aging buildings within our system that need to be replaced," Kashmann answered, "Very politically stated," Denverite reported. Chandler said the Urban Alchemy contract could be extended another year.
The replacement site that shrank
The city had proposed a 400-bed cold-weather shelter at the former Monroe Village site that Chandler earlier suggested could take Crossroads' place. After neighborhood opposition, HOST cut it to one structure for 150 to 200 people, with no opening date (our story).
What our records add
The Council has split on Crossroads before. The Salvation Army's last two Crossroads contracts each drew no votes:
- June 23, 2025: a $4.55 million extension through 2025 (25-0713) passed 9-4. Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez, Chris Hinds, Shontel Lewis and Sarah Parady voted no (meeting).
- Nov. 10, 2025: $4,686,500 more, through Dec. 31, 2026, for a total of $24,036,500 (25-1372), passed 9-2. Gonzales-Gutierrez and Lewis voted no; Parady and Jamie Torres were absent (meeting).
The Salvation Army has run Crossroads since 1983, according to Denverite. Its current contract ends Dec. 31.
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The first of the nine shelter contracts is filed. The Delores Project's contract, $2,239,055 for 2027 through 2029, went through the Mayor-Council meeting this week (26-1742). It covers at least 50 beds at the group's 24/7 shelter at 1290 King St. in District 3, for women and transgender, nonbinary and gender-nonconforming people, paid from the General Fund, according to the request. The Urban Alchemy contracts have not been filed yet.
The Council can't block a closure directly. Closing a city-run shelter doesn't require a Council vote. The contracts to run it, and any lease or purchase for a replacement site, do.
What's next
The Crossroads and 48th Avenue contracts still have to be filed and go through committee before the Salvation Army's contract ends Dec. 31. Crossroads is in Darrell Watson's District 9.