DENVER (KDVR) — A group of residents from the Overland neighborhood pleaded with Denver City Council on Monday night to rethink the construction of an approved micro-community at 2301 S. Santa Fe Dr.

Construction of the micro-community is already underway as part of Mayor Mike Johnston’s House1000 initiative.

The community will serve up to 120 people. It will be fenced, gated and staffed 24/7. It will offer services such as restrooms, communal kitchens, on-site laundry and trash disposal.

But some residents say they don’t want it there.

“Tonight, I will be begging city council to rescind their vote. They can do that right now,” Kat De La Rosa said.

She is a long-time resident of the neighborhood.

“I have to be frank. I’m frightened, my neighbors are frightened,” she said.

A plot of dirt with construction equipment along a city street
Micro-community under construction at 2301 South Santa Fe Drive (KDVR)

De La Rosa said there have been encampments in the area before. Based off that experience, she fears that drugs, garbage and crime will come with the micro-community.

In a previous statement, Johnston said: “This future micro-community will help get unhoused neighbors off the street and into safe, stable, supportive transitional housing while also helping us close unsafe encampments and keep neighborhoods closed to future camping.”

If the project continues to move forward, De La Rosa will ask for security cameras in the area, a higher fence, a lower guest count and a better garbage system.

“I don’t want this neighborhood to be a study,” she said.

On Wednesday, a city council committee will take a look at a proposed contract with Colorado Village Collaborative to run the operations of the micro-community at the cost of about $3.8 million a year.