In a move that quietly rewrites the script on student housing in Denver, Chicago-based Depaul USA has bought a large Uptown home at 1544 N. Pearl St. and is turning it into housing for college students experiencing homelessness. The roughly 10,000-square-foot property, created from a converted duplex, now holds about a dozen bedrooms and is set to offer wraparound support and on-site staff so students can stay enrolled while they stabilize their housing.
The deal and local partnerships
As reported by BusinessDen, Depaul USA paid about $1.2 million for the house in early July and is aiming to have it open in time for the fall semester. The nonprofit plans to work with Metropolitan State University of Denver and Regis University to identify and place students. Some bedrooms are expected to host more than one person to increase capacity. According to BusinessDen, the purchase was funded entirely by donations, and the Denver site will operate with an on-site program director, a case manager, and a house manager.
How the Dax model works
Depaul USA’s Dax program is designed as more than just a set of keys. It pairs housing with case management and formal partnerships with colleges so students are not choosing between a bed and a degree. Depaul USA describes the Dax model as offering affordable rent, referrals for counseling, transportation support, and help with books and food, along with resident mentoring. Program materials and national coverage indicate that Dax Houses now operate in multiple cities as a targeted response to college homelessness.
Student homelessness in context
The need for this kind of housing is not hypothetical. A NASFAA summary of a SchoolHouse Connection brief found that nearly 14% of college students reported experiencing homelessness in 2024. NASFAA notes that many of those students are sleeping temporarily at friends’ places rather than in shelters, and that food insecurity and mental health challenges are common parts of the same struggle.
Why Uptown matters
Location is a big part of the story. Depaul USA interim CEO Sandra Guillory described the purchase as “an opportunity to preserve what is currently affordable housing in what is a rapidly gentrifying area,” a remark reported to BusinessDen. The house dates back to the 1930s and was later combined into a single structure, which allows several students to live relatively compactly at a time when nearby rents are climbing. Advocates see the project as a modest but concrete counterweight to displacement pressures in Uptown.
Who sold the house
The seller was Colorado Vincentian Volunteers, a Denver year-of-service program that had used the building to house recent college graduates in yearlong placements. Colorado Vincentian Volunteers lists the Pearl Street address as its headquarters and outlines its program on its site, and the organization plans to continue other service work in Denver.
What's next
Depaul USA intends to run the Uptown house under its Dax program, with on-site staff and services tied closely to campus partners, to get students into stable housing before the semester starts. The nonprofit says it will keep fundraising and coordinating with universities so that students who need both a bed and additional support can be identified and referred into the house.
