AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- A former downtown Austin homeless shelter could reopen later this year - with the City of Austin picking up the tab.
Austin City Council members will consider two agenda items Thursday related to the former Salvation Army downtown shelter at 501 East 8th Street, which closed its doors in April.
The first item would authorize the city to negotiate a lease agreement with the Salvation Army for 12 months at a base rent of $50,000. The city would be on the hook for all operating expenses under a triple-net lease, adding up to roughly $1.27 million over the lease term which would begin July 1.
A separate agenda item would extend the city's agreement with Urban Alchemy, who currently operates the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless, or ARCH. The agenda item calls for Urban Alchemy to operate the former Salvation Army facility for a 12-month term for $4.56 million. Urban Alchemy has been operating the ARCH since taking over on an emergency basis in 2022.
In total, the plan would cost the city $5.83 million. Funding for the shelter lease would come from Austin Public Health's budget, while the city will use federal American Rescue Plan dollars to pay for Urban Alchemy's services at the site.
Salvation Army officials first announced their decision to close the downtown shelter in February, after years of operating the facility at a loss due to its age and deteriorating condition. After originally planning to close the shelter by March 15, the City of Austin reached a short-term agreement to fund the shelter's operations for up to an additional 30 days.
In regards to the property's long-term future, Salvation Army officials say they've received approval from their Georgia parent corporation to sell the downtown property. According to 2022 tax data from the Travis Central Appraisal District, the shelter property and three nearby parcels of land were appraised at more than $14 million.
