Denver Hopes to Purchase Legendary Neighborhood Gymnasium for New Housing Effort

The City of Denver is in the process of acquiring a unique curved wooden ceiling structure that has for years served as a neighborhood gymnasium.  The City wishes to repurpose it as migrant housing.

Located at 375 S. Zuni Street, about 5 miles to the south of downtown Denver, the structure was built in 1966 and measures around 10,100 square feet.

Earlier listed for sale and advertised as a “sports and entertainment building,” the structure has undergone a recent change of ownership. In late 2022 it was purchased by the Denver Community Church.

At the time of that $3.7 million purchase, the church said it planned to use the structure as a house of worship.

The building in the Athman Park has had a storied past, earlier serving as a practice facility for the formerly named Denver Rockets basketball team.

Subsequently put on the market some months later for $4.2 million, the building has recently attracted a new would-be owner in the form of the City of Denver, which has offered to buy it for $4 million.

In purchasing the structure, Denver would also be buying an adjacent half-acre site.

City documents have said that the facility is needed to “help shelter newcomer families,” adding that the space “is a key piece of Denver’s effort to keep families safely off the streets.”

It is thought that the building could easily accommodate up to 120 people at any given time for sheltering purposes.

By Garry Boulard

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