City Council didn’t question a $30 million homeless shelter contract until it was too late to turn down

A $30 million contract with the San Francisco-based nonprofit Urban Alchemy to take over a major Denver homeless shelter looked like it was sailing through City Council for weeks without a concern — despite the nonprofit’s history of lawsuits, data misreporting and strife with other cities.

Denverite reported on the group’s short and troubled history two months ago, just after the Department of Housing Stability announced the group had been picked to run the shelter in a former DoubleTree Hotel and days before the council began to review the contract.

Among the troubles Denverite identified: • Accusations of lobbying rule violations that were later thrown out • Data misreporting (identified by Urban Alchemy itself) • A sexual harassment lawsuit • A worker who hosed down a sidewal