The Denver City Council this week rejected a mayor’s office proposal to purchase a former Goodyear auto repair shop downtown and replace it with affordable housing.
Mayor Mike Johnston’s administration was seeking to use $2.5 million from a reserve fund to acquire the former auto shop and an empty lot next door. The parcels, at 1460 and 1480 Tremont Place, are about a block north of Civic Center Park.
“Contingency funds are meant to cover emergencies and unexpected things, not speculative real estate opportunities,” Councilwoman Flor Alvidrez said during Tuesday’s meeting.
The proposal lost on a 7-4 vote. Council members Amanda Sawyer, Diane Romero-Campbell, Shontel Lewis, Amanda Sandoval, Serena Gonzales-Gutierrez and Jamie Torres also voted no, while council members Kevin Flynn, Darrell Watson, Paul Kashmann and Chris Hinds voted yes.
Those who opposed the plan generally said they didn’t support the use of contingency funds for a proposal that wasn’t an emergency. They also pointed to how many other capital investment needs the city has for its infrastructure and properties, including in several of its emergency homeless shelters.
“It feels like we are trying to be all things to all people,” Sawyer said. “If the City and County of Denver is ready to spend (millions of dollars of capital improvement program contingency), please give my office a call and we would be happy to help you spend that.”
Alvidrez said it would be unwise to approve the purchase, especially when the federal government has threatened to withdraw grants from Denver projects because of the city’s friendly policies toward immigrants who are in the country illegally.
Jackson Brockway, the capital planning and budget manager for the Denver Department of Finance, defended the proposed use of the contingency fund, saying the city hasn’t used any of the $7.4 million capital reserve allocated for 2025.
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The capital improvement fund is what the city uses to pay for infrastructure and assets. It’s separate from the general fund, which is used for day-to-day operations and is the source of the city’s ongoing budget crisis.
Councilman Chris Hinds, who represents the area where the building is located, spoke in support of the proposal.
“Our end goal is to put people into housing, not just shelter,” Hinds said in response to the concerns of other council members about shelter capacity. “This is a financially prudent decision.”
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