Denver Mayor Hancock sweetens deal for Ballpark homeless center

Denver Mayor Michael Hancock on Monday promised stepped-up police patrols and clean-up measures in downtown’s Ballpark neighborhood to sweeten a contentious homeless day center project.

He pledged in a letter to the City Council to seek a budget request in coming weeks to pay for those efforts. The offer came as two dozen or more residents and business representatives attended the council’s meeting holding signs bearing a simple message: “END HOMELESSNESS. DON’T JUST HIDE IT, DENVER.”

Council members, who heard two funding measures for the $8.6 million project on first reading, are wading into a complex issue going back decades. The rapidly developing Ballpark neighborhood — sprouting lofts, apartments and businesses at a rapid pace — remains Denver’s locus of homeless shelters and services.

“This is a question of the best way to help the homeless,” Scott Bauer, 34, vice president of the Ballpark Neighborhood Association, told the council before asking about several issues. “Is this the best use of limited funds to help the homeless? … Why is this proposal moving so quickly?”

The association says its online petition opposing the project has collected 325 signatures.

The mayor, Councilwoman Judy Montero and Denver Rescue Mission officials say the center is a key part of neighborhood improvement efforts for Ballpark — and the city’s wider homelessness reduction strategy.

City development money would help pay for the mission’s planned community center adjacent to a men’s shelter. The one-story structure would add a dining room, showers and restrooms for the homeless and anyone else.

A large, street-facing courtyard waiting area would allow men who want overnight shelter to line up each afternoon in a safe area, outside of public view.

The funding proposals to buy property and pay for construction face final council votes next Monday.

Still to come, Hancock said in his council letter, is a budget request seeking an undetermined amount for “a significant increase in uniformed police officers in Ballpark, Lower Downtown and on the 16th Street Mall.”

In Ballpark, the request also would cover better street lighting, power-washing of alleys and sidewalks, graffiti removal and pickups of large items.

Mayoral spokeswoman Amber Miller said details of the request, including whether to hire new officers or shift them around, have been the focus of talks with Denver police and other departments for weeks.

“These measures will provide much-needed relief to the neighborhood,” Hancock’s letter says, “while at the same time, the Lawrence Street Community Center and courtyard project will fill a void in services for the homeless.”

The neighborhood association took a formal stand against the project last week. Its leaders call the plan a “Band-Aid” for the homelessness problem.

At least one protester Monday was skeptical of any pledge to marshal city resources to clean up the neighborhood.

Daniela Borja, 38, who lives in Ballpark, said the city would rather spend millions “to create a holding pen” than add a single homeless shelter bed.

“I don’t think the city is thinking this through well enough,” she said.

Jon Murray: 303-954-1405, jmurray@denverpost.com or twitter.com/ denverJonMurray