Denver is selling a southeast Denver house it took back from a mental health provider, and extending a crisis center contract

Two items on City Council committee agendas this week trace back to the same provider, the Mental Health Center of Denver, which does business as WellPower. One would sell a house the city got back when a group home there closed. The other keeps a 24-hour crisis center open while the city prepares to seek a new operator.

Why it matters to residents: both are about where people in a mental health crisis can go, and how the city handles property and contracts set aside for that purpose.

The house on South Narcissus Way

Resolution 26-1609 would approve the sale of a 3,902-square-foot house at 3940 S. Narcissus Way, in the Hampden South neighborhood and Council District 4, for $710,000 (Legistar). It is before the Finance and Business Committee on Oct. 27 (agenda).

The city's request explains how Denver came to own it:

• The city got it back in April 2026. A city covenant required the property to be used as affordable housing for people with chronic mental illness, and to go back to the city if the owner could no longer provide those services. The Mental Health Center of Denver had owned it.
• Neighborhood covenants block the old use. The Southmoor Park East Homeowners Association's covenants limit the property to a single-family home. The request says the earlier residential care use conflicts with those covenants.
• So the city is selling it. The Department of Housing Stability (HOST) asked the city's real estate division to sell. The house was listed July 22, and the city picked a buyer's offer on Oct. 2. The buyers are private individuals.

The request does not say how the city will use the money from the sale.

The crisis center contract

Resolution 26-1513 would add $3,670,867 to the city's contract with WellPower to run the Behavioral Health Solutions Center, for a new total of $27,079,152, and extend it 11.5 months to Aug. 15, 2027 (Legistar). The Health and Safety Committee approved it by consent Oct. 21, and it is on the Mayor-Council agenda Oct. 27 (agenda).

According to the Department of Public Health and Environment's request:

• What it is: a voluntary 24/7 facility, not open to the public, for adults in a behavioral health crisis. It offers crisis stabilization, usually for three to six days, plus temporary housing and help moving back into the community. The goal is to keep people out of emergency rooms and jail when those aren't the right place.
• Why an extension: the city had planned to seek new bids in early 2026, but moved that to early 2027 because state rules for these facilities are changing and have not been finalized.
• The handoff: a new operator would start July 1, 2027, with about six weeks of overlap with WellPower.
• Past five years: the contract began Dec. 1, 2020. Because the extension runs past the five-year limit in the mayor's contracting order, the city cited a "continuity of service" exception.

What our records add

The Council has heard about the center before. At a December 2023 committee meeting, city staff described the Solutions Center's crisis stabilization, transitional shelter and help with mental health and substance use (video at 5:30). At this year's Sept. 21 budget hearing, a public health department presenter listed the Solutions Center among the department's two largest contracts, at about $2.7 million in the budget (video at 8:05).

It's part of a wider crisis system. The STAR non-police response program and the Denver CARES detox center are also funded by the city. Our earlier stories cover STAR's contracts and Denver CARES' funding gap.

What's next

• Oct. 27: Finance and Business hears the home sale; Mayor-Council reviews the Solutions Center extension.
• Then the full Council. Both are resolutions and could be adopted on a consent vote unless a member calls them out.
• Early 2027: The city plans to release a request for proposals for the Solutions Center's next operator.