AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Despite objections, the Austin City Council voted 10-1 on Thursday to approve the purchase of a fourth hotel property to provide permanent supportive housing for those who are experiencing homelessness.
Council members approved the purchase of the Candlewood Suites property located at 10811 Pecan Park Boulevard for a $9.5 million price tag.
Neighborhood residents, business owners, Williamson County Commissioners, and even a state senator all objected to the purchase of the property, but the objections were brushed aside in the end.
District 6 council member Mackenzie Kelly was the sole vote against the purchase. Kelly, who achieved a one-week delay in the purchase in order to provide time for better communication with constituents, on Thursday attempted to postpone a vote on the purchase until Aug. 31 - in line with a request from Williamson County commissioners. No one else on the council agreed to consider that request.
Kelly issued a statement following the council vote. "We knew going into today that Council was going to vote for this purchase and its intended use," she said in a statement. "I stand with District 6 residents in our support of permanent supportive housing as one possible solution to the homelessness situation. I stand with them also in opposition to the process that got us to this purchase."
It's the fourth hotel that the city has purchased under its motel conversion strategy for creating permanent supportive housing. Two properties were purchased last year; a third, located on Burnet Road in North Austin, was approved by Council last week for $6.7 million.
🛌 Housing for Homeless: #ATXCouncil approves the purchase of an 83-bedroom hotel on Pecan Park Blvd in Northwest Austin to provide housing + support services to those experiencing homelessness. pic.twitter.com/hAXbsr4NSI
— City of Austin (@austintexasgov) February 4, 2021
