Aurora plans regional navigation campus to open late 2025, will house 255 rooms and on-site services

Aurora officials told Douglas County partners on April 10 that work to convert the Crowne Plaza Hotel and Convention Center into the Aurora Regional Navigation Campus is under way and on track for a phased opening in late 2025.

“My name is Emma Knight. I’m the manager of homeless programs for the city of Aurora,” Knight said during the Douglas County Homeless Initiative meeting, reviewing the project’s history and timeline. Aurora purchased the property in May 2024 and received a grant from the Colorado Division of Housing (DOH) for “just over $15,000,000,” Knight said, with additional contributions from Adams County, Arapahoe County, Douglas County and other local funding bringing the purchase-and-renovation total to just under $40,000,000.

The campus will repurpose the hotel’s 255 rooms into a three-tier shelter and housing model, operator ADVANCE’s executive director Jim Goebelbecker said. Tier 1 will provide low‑barrier emergency shelter; tier 2 private beds and case-management engagement; and tier 3 will offer workforce transitional housing in former hotel rooms with stays of up to two years. The campus will also include a day center, space for case management and job training, a clinic with two exam rooms, 20 respite beds for people leaving hospitals, and a kennel area for pets.

“We have three tiers of shelter… Tier 1 is emergency shelter, low barrier; tier 2 gives you more privacy and help to engage with case management; and tier 3 is the hotel rooms with a commitment to longer-term sustainability,” Goebelbecker said. He described partnerships for workforce training and meal services, and said about 85 percent of ADVANCE staff have lived experience in recovery.

Knight said renovations began in early 2025. Work already completed includes plumbing, demolition of ballroom flooring, rooftop crane lifts, partial elevator work (one elevator is operational) and exploratory testing; a site permit was expected in early June 2025. Aurora has used part of the facility temporarily for overnight cold‑weather shelter starting in January; that temporary use will end when the portion of the building used for that shelter must be renovated. Aurora plans to shift temporary shelter operations to the Aurora Day Resource Center (ADRC) while finishing renovation work on site.

Officials described security, health and partner coordination for operations. Knight said the campus will not be a mental‑health treatment hospital, but Aurora will coordinate referrals to nearby services including Aurora Mental Health’s Potomac campus and other regional providers. Security will be provided by an outsourced firm during start‑up, with the goal of hiring an on‑site security force integrated with program de‑escalation practices; Aurora Police Department officers will be welcome on campus for any incidents.

The campus operator emphasized programming that moves people from survival to stability. Goebelbecker described job‑training partnerships — including a meals partnership with CCL Hospitality — private entrances and community rooms on each floor, and a rent‑like program fee of up to 30 percent to teach budgeting as part of longer‑term housing stability.

Knight and Goebelbecker acknowledged remaining open questions and constraints. The facility will serve adults 18 and older; Aurora decided not to co‑locate families with single adults at this site because of safety concerns and best practices, Knight said. Couples may be accommodated with proximate rooms but program leaders expect to separate men’s and women’s sleeping areas where necessary for safety. The campus will not provide nursing‑level care; respite beds are for people who can care for themselves for up to 30 days.

Officials said additional funding will be needed for “pie‑in‑the‑sky” improvements and for staffing; they encouraged community partners to refer qualified case managers and clinicians. Knight gave a target for the facility to be “partially open” the last week of October or the first week of November 2025 and fully functional in the fourth quarter of 2025, while acknowledging renovation schedules could change.

The presentation drew questions from municipal leaders and Douglas County officials about mental‑health coordination, handling of couples and children, workforce partnerships and safety. Several local partners — including Douglas County HEART team members and municipal representatives — said they plan to refer clients and coordinate services once the campus opens.

If the campus opens as planned, Aurora and its partners say it will provide integrated shelter, health screening, workforce services and a path to transitional housing for adults experiencing homelessness across the metro region.