Colorado taxpayers will spend $24 million to buy the Clarion Hotel near the Denver Coliseum to house the homeless in its 215 rooms and suites.
No word on whether accommodations will include daily maid and turndown service or complimentary towels for the pool.
But continental breakfast looks to be included in the full kitchen that will provide freshly cooked meals, as well as on-site mental health services, counseling, job training and private security.
The Denver Gazette completely glossed over who is really picking up the tab, by instead listing the government agencies coughing up the $24 million to buy the hotel, as opposed to where all that money actually comes from.
The multi-million-dollar price tag came from a variety of funding sources, including: $10.6 million from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs; $10.4 million from the Denver Office of Housing Stability, and nearly $4 million from Adams County, which is less than a mile away from the building.
The facility will be operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, which employees 750 people.
The coalition appears to have 25 non-profit corporations, but only two have revealed annual revenues since 2020, which totaled $124 million.
We find it fascinating how profitable non-profits for the homeless have become over the years. It’s almost as if homelessness has become its own industry.
And how interesting the article framed the hotel purchase, not as an advancement really for the homeless, but as an accomplishment for John Parvensky, president and CEO of the coalition, whose 2020 salary was nearly $400,000.
The acquisition of the “class B hotel” will likely be the capstone to Parvensky’s 38-year career as president and CEO of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. He plans to retire as soon as the 750-employee non-profit organization finds a suitable replacement to run the organization.