Denver performance-based shelter contracting

Denver's pay-for-performance shelter contracting pilot is reporting occupancy and case-management results to City Council as providers and the housing department negotiate what the metrics should count.

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2026-08-17 · housing

Urban Alchemy is beating goals at the embattled homeless shelter it runs

Denverite

Six months into a $30 million contract to run the Aspen, a former DoubleTree hotel shelter, Urban Alchemy told a Denver City Council committee it is exceeding the housing department's performance targets: 93% occupancy against a 90% goal, 99% of clients getting intake housing conversations, and 88% receiving regular housing-focused case management. Average length of stay across the city's shelters rose from 166 days in 2025 to 229 days in 2026, which deputy director Jeff Kositsky attributed to the loss of housing authority vouchers and ARPA funding.

The city's performance metrics for shelter providers do not count housing exits; Kositsky told the council providers do not control housing resources.