But as fencing goes up and construction gets underway, one micro-community site is already leaving lasting scars on the neighborhood that's hosting it.
In the Golden Triangle, bulldozers have come in and started tearing up the asphalt at a site planned for the city-owned parking lot at 1375 Elati Street, which serves as a popular place to park for Civic Center visitors and people going to the nearby Lindsey-Flanigan Courthouse. The area has been fenced off for several weeks as the city prepares to put up the micro-community.
"The asphalt is being taken up for environmental assessments and pre-work on the site," a city spokesperson tells Westword. "That said, there will still need to be some development work on the site, even if the site will be temporary."
One of Denver's favorite hot dog vendors, Marcello Rodriguez — who slings franks at the corner of West 14th Avenue and Elati Street to city officials, jail inmates and politicians — says he's "definitely" concerned that the incoming housing site will affect his business and end up being permanent.
"Once it gets too packed in [the micro-community], they're going to gather around here, there's going to be a lot of drugs, there's going to be a lot of shit for all the cops down here," he says. "I just don't understand how they're going to allow this."
Drivers who use the parking lot used to be big business for Rodriguez, but now they're all gone.
"People parked here; I got a lot of foot traffic right here," he says. "And ever since [the parking lot closed], I haven't really gotten quite as busy."
Rodriguez has been selling hot dogs at the corner for three years, but his mother, Vanessa, sold hot dogs from the same spot for a decade before he took over. His cart — dubbed "Vanessa's Cart," as written across the top of a cardboard menu — has been there as long as the courthouse.
An updated site plan for the 1375 Elati Street micro-community shows that the asphalt is coming out in an area roughly around where a dog yard is planned to go. All the site plans for micro-communities revealed so far include dog yards, as residents will be allowed to bring pets.
The city still has requests for proposals to find the service providers who will manage each of the micro-communities and offer case management. Johnston told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, November 8, that he plans to finalize deals for some of the providers in the coming week.
The updated site plan also shows a different layout for the micro-community where the units are now a little more spread out, largely because the new plan also reveals a decrease in the number of units from 51 to 44. The city shrank the micro-community by removing four single-occupancy units that were in the old plan, along with three units for people with disabilities. The micro-community will still have two community centers, but they'll be spaced farther apart now.
Billed as a place for homeless people to stay until they can get more permanent housing, micro-communities like the pallet shelters ordered by Denver City Council last Monday for $6 million often come pre-assembled and don't require digging up concrete or destroying the property where they're being put in.
"Once it gets too packed in [the micro-community], they're going to gather around here, there's going to be a lot of drugs, there's going to be a lot of shit for all the cops down here," he says. "I just don't understand how they're going to allow this."
Drivers who use the parking lot used to be big business for Rodriguez, but now they're all gone.
"People parked here; I got a lot of foot traffic right here," he says. "And ever since [the parking lot closed], I haven't really gotten quite as busy."
"At first, I was a little pissed off because they didn't inform me or anything," he says. "They kind of just showed up on a Monday. I'm right here every day, and I'm just trying to support people out here. I know the homeless people — they need somewhere to stay, I understand that. But I don't think this is the right place to put that."
Rodriguez has been in talks with the city recently and admits that they gave him "a little hope" by telling him it's possible to move his cart to the other side of West 14th Avenue. However, that could require more licensing and city fees.
Rodriguez's aunt, Marcella Armas, has been selling hot dogs a few blocks up, at the intersection of 14th and Cherokee streets, for thirty years. She's been a fan favorite of Denver politicians like John Hickenlooper, Michael Bennet and Michael Hancock. Rodriguez has been in talks with the city recently and admits that they gave him "a little hope" by telling him it's possible to move his cart to the other side of West 14th Avenue. However, that could require more licensing and city fees.
An updated site plan for the 1375 Elati Street micro-community shows that the asphalt is coming out in an area roughly around where a dog yard is planned to go. All the site plans for micro-communities revealed so far include dog yards, as residents will be allowed to bring pets.
The city still has requests for proposals to find the service providers who will manage each of the micro-communities and offer case management. Johnston told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday, November 8, that he plans to finalize deals for some of the providers in the coming week.
The updated site plan also shows a different layout for the micro-community where the units are now a little more spread out, largely because the new plan also reveals a decrease in the number of units from 51 to 44. The city shrank the micro-community by removing four single-occupancy units that were in the old plan, along with three units for people with disabilities. The micro-community will still have two community centers, but they'll be spaced farther apart now.
The city's plans for micro-communities in the Golden Triangle have slowly evolved in response to feedback from residents. In early October, Johnston nixed plans for a second micro-community, planned at 1199 Bannock Street.
In addition to causing headaches for parkers, the city is also losing revenue by closing off the Elati Street lot to paying customers. However, a city spokesperson says, "We'll be able to better understand any impacts to parking revenues in a few months," once the dust settles.
"As we close this lot, people will move to/utilize other lots for their short-term parking needs," the reps says. "We may still receive that revenue, but at a different location."
