Nonprofit Buys Hotel, Transforms It Into Mini-Apartments For People Living On The Streets

Jul 05, 2020 by apost team

The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless held a grand opening in January for Fusion Studios, where 139 hotel rooms were converted into studio apartments for homeless people to stay in.

Denver, like many major American cities, faces a growing homeless problem. Denver enacted a camping ban in an attempt to halt the growth of tent cities on public land. A court struck down the ban, but it remains in effect pending appeal. The ban remains in effect, pending an appeal of the court’s ruling on its constitutionality.

John Parvensky, head of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless since 1985, learned that Quality Inn and Suites placed a Denver hotel on the market. Using a combination of public and private funding, Parvensky acquired the hotel for $8,400,000. He remodeled it into 139 mini-suites. The Coalition renamed it Fusion suites and opened it to the homeless.

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The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless needed only a few months to move from applications for funding, to purchase, to a completed renovation. Gov. Jared Polis praised the project as a good model of how to work together to solve problems. Such projects usually take years, require multiple studies, and face other obstacles to speedy completion.

Homeless may seek housing at Fusion Suites either directly off of the streets or from a shelter. Through deals with the city and state, they never pay more than 30% of their income as rent. Each room contains the standard hotel amenities and also includes a kitchenette, mini-refrigerator, and a pantry. Residents also have access to case managers to assist with behavioral and medical services. Fusion also provides 24-hour security.

According to Colorado Politics, Parvensky previously completed 16 similar purchases and renovations. He noted that these hotel renovations provide an excellent vehicle to move people off the street as soon as possible. Once relocated, they can begin rebuilding their lives. Both Parvensky and Denver hope to find ways to replicate the success of Fusion Studios.

Let us know what you think about the efforts of the Coalition in Denver. Be sure to let your friends know how Denver’s public bodies and private advocacy groups worked together on an inspired solution to a growing problem. It may stoke the creative fires in a friend and lead to new solutions in your area!