Lawsuit Stalls Denver Rescue Mission’s Proposed Day Center

A new homeless day center in downtown Denver hit a legal snag Thursday. A judge sided with residents who oppose plans by the Denver Rescue Mission to offer daytime services to the homeless.

The new site would be next door to the overnight shelter that the Rescue Mission operates at 1130 Park Avenue. It would offer showers, a dining room, and a place where people with nowhere else to go could spend the hours when the shelter is closed.

Neighborhood residents sued, arguing the center is an expansion of the Rescue Mission, and not allowed under neighborhood zoning. A judge agreed. But it’s not clear whether that decision will keep the day center from opening next month.