Aloft residents plead for new housing options as hotel prepares to close
Unhoused individuals and community advocates rally outside the Colorado State Capitol after speaking with Denver City Council about the need for new housing options for Aloft Hotel residents. Photo: Robert Davis
By Robert Davis
As the Aloft Hotel prepares to close on April 27, residents currently living there asked Denver City Council on Monday night for more housing options.
Denver opened several “protective action hotels,” like the Aloft, during the pandemic to get people experiencing homelessness who are at high risk of contracting COVID-19 into non-congregate shelters. The Aloft is one of the last two remaining protective action hotels in Denver and its imminent closure has left many hotel residents scrambling to find new housing options.
After the Aloft closes, the last remaining protection action hotel in Denver will be the Park Avenue Inn at 3500 Park Avenue West. The property is scheduled to close at the end of June.
“All of these programs that you put in place during the pandemic were for the greater good,” Larry Blackwell, who has been staying at the Aloft for more than a year, told Denver City Council. “Now, we’re just asking for a little help.”
The Aloft and other protective action hotels became figureheads of Denver’s economic struggles during the Covid-19 pandemic. Located in the central business district, the Aloft is within walking distance of retail and entertainment options like the Colorado Convention Center, the 16th St. Mall, and Union Station. All these businesses saw their revenue decline significantly during the pandemic because of local restrictions.
Altogether, Denver has paid the Aloft hotel nearly $20 million since the beginning of the pandemic to provide food and shelter options for 140 unhoused residents of Denver, according to city records. Those funds came from the American Rescue Plan Act, the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus package that President Joe Biden signed in March 2021.
In January, Aloft residents received notice that the hotel would be closing at the end of April. But some residents said that was not enough time to find new housing options.
“They’ve told us that they’ll help us find housing vouchers, but they haven’t,” said John McClaugherty, a resident of the Aloft, who suffers from nerve damage and other conditions. He added that he has struggled to get his case manager to help him find rides to doctor appointments.
Multiple agencies have attempted to connect Aloft residents with new housing options as well. For example, Denver partnered with The Salvation Army to match residents with housing vouchers. The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing has also helped people enroll in Colorado’s state Medicaid program, which includes housing-related services.
Overall, 72 of the remaining residents at Aloft have been relocated to other housing options, according to the Department of Housing Stability. However, there are still 19 individuals who are waiting for housing placements.
“We recognize that this transition is a difficult one, and we are so grateful to all our partners who are working diligently in the final days of this facility’s operation to find the best possible outcomes for all of our guests and to transition them smoothly,” Laura Brudzynski, HOTS’s executive director, said in a press release.