06/11/2022
The transformation of White Swan Motel started last summer, with local design + development group taking over ownership on August 21, 2022.
The property was in bad shape, to put it lightly. The guest rooms were in disrepair, filled with filthy furniture and drug paraphernalia. The grounds were littered with garbage, needles, pet (and even human…) waste. It was an overwhelming project in many ways, but we were determined to ‘eat the elephant’ one bite at a time with a goal of revitalizing this little slice of our beloved Colfax Avenue.
For 8 straight weeks our team worked 12+ hour days. We relied heavily on support from to gut every room, bringing them back to life with repairs, fresh paint, and sturdy new laminate flooring. Bye-bye, ages old {horribly grungy} carpet!
We refurbished the rooms with everything from new mattresses to small appliances, painted the entire exterior, changed locks, and even had the parking lot tuned up thanks to our generous friends at .co!
On November 1 we opened our doors to guests again, this time primarily hosting people for short-term stays via , a local organization that helps shelter people during cold weather months. We were at 100% occupancy through the end of the year.
In January we launched our partnership with + began exclusively hosting families experiencing homelessness. So far this year, over 30 families have been placed in permanent housing after staying with us at The Swan 🦢🏡 The biggest shoutout in the world goes to Mary Jo + Yvette, who work tirelessly to help guide these families to successful placement + support them in navigating the often confusing web of support resources.
This project required and requires a lot of hard work, support, and cooperation from many (many!) people. groups, organizations, fellow small and local businesses, government systems, and community members, to name a few. Thank you so very much for the collective dedication to our vision for now and in the future, and for the belief in the power of humanitarian hospitality.
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