AURORA | Residents and business owners with questions about the north Aurora hotel that the city hopes to remake into a campus for homelessness services are being invited to meetings this month where they can learn more about the project from city staff.
The Crowne Plaza hotel property at 15500 E. 40th Ave. is located on Aurora’s northern periphery, near businesses catering to Denver’s International Airport and across the street from a gated townhome development inside Denver city limits.
Aurora envisions the 255-room hotel being converted into a space that could host most or all of the homelessness services funded by the city, including congregate shelter, a medical clinic, behavioral health and addiction counseling, transitional housing and housing navigation, employment and workforce development services.
Aurora’s City Council voted in January to invest close to $40 million controlled by the city, overlapping counties and the state to buy and renovate the property. The city hopes to close on the property in May and is seeking one or more nonprofit agencies to operate the campus itself.
City officials did not immediately respond to questions about the status of that search Monday.
On March 14, business owners who want to learn more about the project can hear an update and ask questions of the city’s Housing and Community Services Department during a hybrid meeting 6-8 p.m. in the Paul Tauer Council Chamber at the Aurora Municipal Center. Residents are invited to a similar meeting March 28 at the same place and time of day.
Information about attending and participating in the meetings remotely is available at EngageAurora.org/NavigationCampus. Meeting recordings will be posted through the same website after each meeting.
Spanish interpretation will be available for remote and in-person attendees, and interpretation in other languages may be requested by contacting the city at language@auroragov.org or 303-739-7521 no later than the Monday before the meeting.
The city waited until after the council’s final vote to begin outreach to the owners of nearby properties, many of which are located in Denver. In a news release, the city reported that postcards in English and Spanish including information about the meetings have been distributed within a 1.5-mile radius of the property.
The hotel is separated from most of the rest of Aurora by Interstate 70. Councilmember Steve Sundberg, whose ward includes the Crowne Plaza property, previously said he was unable to do outreach on his own while the city was still privately negotiating the purchase of the hotel.
City spokesman Michael Brannen wrote in an email that the city considered hosting the meetings at Crowne Plaza but opted for city hall to ensure people could participate remotely. He said the city is considering holding outreach meetings at the hotel in the future.
“Aurora city staff plans to contact Denver city staff and provide meeting materials for reference and, if they so choose, (to) help to promote the meetings,” the city’s release said.