Denver committee advances $30-a-year leases for two existing District 8 shelter sites
Finance and Business Committee approved two consent-calendar resolutions June 9 that would extend city-backed shelter leases at 4600 E. 48th Ave. and 4040 Quebec St. through Dec. 31, 2026.
Denver City Council’s Finance and Business Committee approved two shelter lease resolutions by consent June 9 that would extend city-backed use of two District 8 properties through Dec. 31, 2026, at a nominal $30 a year: a men’s congregate shelter run by Denver Rescue Mission at 4600 E. 48th Ave. and a non-congregate shelter run by Urban Alchemy at 4040 Quebec St.
The committee action concerns real-estate approvals for sites already operating as shelters, not newly proposed locations. The June 9 committee agenda lists both items at those addresses, and the committee minutes show they passed on the consent calendar without discussion.
At 4600 E. 48th Ave., the city had already authorized a $30 sublease for Denver Rescue Mission at the same address in 2021, with a term through Dec. 31, 2023, according to the Legistar record for that action. In 2023, city contract records said Denver Rescue Mission would provide 24-hour shelter for up to 515 adult men at the site, and in 2025 the city extended that service agreement through the end of 2026.
At 4040 Quebec St., the committee item also appears to continue an existing shelter operation. Denver’s Department of Housing Stability said when it announced new shelter operators that Urban Alchemy had been selected to operate the Aspen shelter at that address, and the city’s Aspen site page says the shelter opened in December 2023 with 289 units for single adult men and women. City Council also approved Urban Alchemy’s operating contract for the Aspen shelter in December 2025, with a term through Dec. 31, 2028.
What is newly before council is the lease authority for the two properties through the end of 2026. Based on the committee record reviewed for this story, the items were not pulled from consent and did not draw recorded committee debate or public testimony at that stage.
The broader District 8 shelter footprint has continued to shift around these sites. In late May, City Council approved added funding for 20 more family non-congregate shelter units in Denver Rescue Mission’s Crossing program, bringing that program to 30 units, though that action involved a different shelter program from the two leases advanced here.
The lease resolutions still must clear the rest of the City Council process before taking effect.