City of Denver
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The Twentieth Street Recreation Center, the last of the Denver rec centers used to welcome and temporarily shelter migrants, will reopen today, April 3.
“Three of our recreation centers were utilized to assist with the ongoing arrival of migrants into the city. Two were operating as emergency shelters and one as a reception center for new arrivals. With the opening of Twentieth Street, all thirty of our recreation centers will have returned to normal operations,” says Cyndi Karvaski, a spokesperson for the Denver Department of Parks & Recreation.
In early December, as a trickle of migrants into the city grew into a flood, the City of Denver announced that it was activating an emergency shelter at a Denver recreation center to accommodate the new arrivals, though the city didn’t identify the Central Park Recreation Center at the time.
Later that month, the administration of Mayor Michael Hancock transformed another recreation center – the Rude Recreation Center – into a second emergency shelter while closing Twentieth Street and turning it into a welcome center. Ultimately, the stream of migrants arriving grew so large that Hancock declared a state of emergency.
Stretching Denver’s homeless resources thin, the numbers peaked around December 31, when 1,847 migrants were staying in Denver shelters – both those run by the city and those managed by non-governmental partners of the city. For much of the month, the Hancock administration had sought help from state officials, neighboring jurisdictions and even religious institutions. The State of Colorado provided $2.5 million to assist Denver, but other municipalities provided little assistance, and efforts to shelter migrants in a Catholic archdiocese facility never came to fruition.
But over the past few months, the influx of migrants has slowed. On March 30, just fifteen migrants arrived in Denver; on March 31, 1,147 migrants were staying in shelters provided by city partners. Through March, the City of Denver had served 6,073 migrants, spending $9.5 million on these services.
The city didn’t calculate the cost of cutting off access to rec centers for city residents, however – particularly those who frequented Twentieth Street Recreation Center. That facility, which opened in 1908, has a legendary past. It was once used as a bathhouse for people who didn’t have indoor plumbing, and ultimately became the host for boxing matches starring some of the sport’s greats, including Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston. Now most of its regulars are from the neighborhood, and many are inner-city kids involved in boxing and other programs.
Aside from the three rec centers used for migrants, the City of Denver also turned the McNichols Civic Center Building into a temporary shelter. That ended on March 31.
“The building will be cleaned and returned to normal operations in mid-April,” says Adriana Lopez, a spokesperson for Denver Human Services. And just in time, too: The McNichols Building typically hosts public arts events as well as private activities. Later this month, the venue will host some events related to the Cities Summit of the Americas, which will bring mayors from across the Americas to Denver.
But with the situation at the southern border still uncertain, Denver officials are prepared for migrant arrivals to increase again.
“Denver is continuously monitoring activities at the state and federal levels while still actively providing support. We continue to provide resources to shelters to help support migrant shelter guests in determining next steps beyond their emergency shelter stay,” says Lopez. “While the outpouring of support from the local community and caring residents has been generous, the City of Denver still needs funding support at the state and federal levels to ensure that all migrants who come through our shelters have a safe landing.”
