After eight years of planning, Urban Peak officially opened its new campus dubbed The Mothership.
Urban Peak CEO Christina Carlson says the opening of the four-story building in Overland marks a new chapter in the 30-year history of the Denver-based nonprofit, which provides housing for youth experiencing homelessness.
“The [old building] was bought in the mid-nineties and when you walked in it smelled like a locker room … it was really dark and not welcoming,” she said. “We [needed] a space where people could feel safe and find love and find security. It had to be about our staff, it had to be about addressing trauma, and most importantly it had to be about youth.”
The ribbon-cutting ceremony at 1630 S. Acoma St. attracted over a hundred people, many who were anxiously waiting to tour the $37 million project, almost $17 million of which came from voter-approved funding.
Teens who once used Urban Peak's services hope today's youth will find the same inspiration
For Jeremiah Berndt, a former Urban Peak youth and a current board member, one of the most exciting parts of the new building is the music studio on the fourth floor.
“It's creativity and expression and it's a way for youth to continue to engage in fun life stuff,” Berndt said. “It’s a way for [them] to put whatever they've got going on down for a minute and just be able to be creative and really explore something.”
After transitioning out of Urban Peak’s shelter 12 years ago, Berndt received a degree in music from University of Colorado Denver.
While Berndt was already interested in music before arriving at Urban Peak, he hopes that a dedicated space for youth to have a creative outlet will give them the motivation he got.
“It was part of a huge part of the stepping stone that got me back into school and pursuing a degree in music and just going to classes and living a life that allowed me to do any of those things,” he said.
Mayor Mike Johnston joined the Urban Peaks team for The Mothership’s ribbon-cutting ceremony. In a speech, he told the crowd that seeing The Mothership is, “what love looks like in physical form.”
The Mothership triples Urban Peak's capacity for housing
The new campus was built directly over its antiquated predecessor, a shelter that housed and served up to 40 youths at a time.
The Mothership — which features two floors divided into distinct “neighborhoods” to meet the unique needs of youth transitioning from shelter living to long-term, independent housing — will be able to house more than three times as many youth.
That addresses a critical gap in currently available services, youth shelter program manager Daniel Sparks said.
“This space shows the evolution and growth of Urban Peak and it reflects the youth that we serve,” Sparks said. “Urban Peak will be the first homeless service provider in the nation to provide shelter, education and employment, case management, social and emotional, medical and transitional living shelter services for youth between the ages of 12-to-24 years old.”
But the project hasn’t come without hurdles.
Earlier this year, the Denver Auditor's Office accused Urban Peak of wage theft — something that Carlson said was an honest mistake. That mistake set the nonprofit back $2 million.
Urban Peak's Mothership will now open in phases
Opening 24/7 emergency shelters for minors (ages 12-17) and youth (ages 18-24), as well as one of the neighborhoods, will take priority, Carlson said.
She hopes that Urban Peak will receive “extra resources” from the city in the near future to open additional neighborhoods and community spaces throughout the campus.
But for now, Carlson says she feels “blown away” standing outside of the finished building.
“This has been a labor of love for so many, and to stand here today … I don't know if I ever thought it would happen,” she said. “And so to be here is pretty unbelievable.”
