By Greg Avery
Camera Staff Writer

Boulder is giving the area's homeless shelter a $1.2 million boost toward building a larger, new shelter.

The city money, committed last week, will be the foundation on which the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless can raise private donations toward its $5.6 million building project, said shelter board President Barbara Paradiso.

"It says that the city believes in this project, so much so that it's willing to make a significant financial commitment to it," Paradiso said.

In March, Boulder's Planning Department approved the shelter's proposal to build a larger building on 1.2 acres at 4869 N. Broadway. That's just north of Lee Hill Road and two blocks north of the shelter's current site at 4645 N. Broadway.

The new building is planned to house up to 160 people. It would replace the current building, which shelter officials say can no longer meet demand on the coldest nights of the year.

A group of homeowners from neighborhoods near the proposed new shelter site have filed a lawsuit against the new shelter plan.

The suit, if successful, does not seek to stop the move but could result in a smaller new shelter.

Shelter officials say they will pursue their original expansion plan unless the courts rule that it must change.

They plan to take out a $900,000 loan toward the building project, which the city will repay. With interest, the city's commitment comes to $1.25 million, paid in annual installments over the next decade.

The money is in addition to the $725,000 the city has already given to the project — $675,000 from the city's Coors Field stadium tax refund and a $50,000 grant awarded to the shelter in 2000.

Including the city's latest donation, the shelter has verbal commitments from governments, foundations and individuals for about $4.3 million in building funds. That leaves an additional $1.4 million to raise.

"We're getting there, but there's a lot of money left" to raise, Paradiso said.

Longmont's city government contributed $100,000 toward the new shelter project last year.

The Boulder money is well spent, even if the city is facing declining tax revenue, said City Councilman Don Mock.

It is when the economy is slowing that the most vulnerable members of the population need help, he said.

"The need is now, so we do whatever we can to help out now," he said.

Susan Purdy, Boulder housing and human services director, said the city's donation is just the latest in a long history of assisting human service organizations.

It also fits the city's mission of helping find housing for people in the city, she said.

"It seemed a very natural thing for us to be doing," Purdy said.

If an adequate shelter did not exist in the area, the problem of homelessness could put a strain on other city resources, such as police or medical assistance.

Contact Greg Avery at (303) 473-1307 or averyg@thedailycamera.com.

May 30, 2002

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