AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- About 60 people experiencing homelessness in downtown Austin near Lady Bird Lake are being offered a spot at the city's latest temporary bridge shelter, city officials announced Thursday.
The group is the first to use the new Northbridge Shelter, located at 7400 North Interstate 35. City Council approved the purchase of the property in May 2020 for $8.7 million, with plans to convert it into permanent supportive housing.
"By opening Northbridge and working to compassionately close this downtown encampment, we are helping many individuals take their first important step on the journey back to stability and permanent housing," said City of Austin Homeless Strategy Officer Dianna Grey.
The downtown site, which includes the area surrounding the Buford Tower, is on City park land, stretching from Cesar Chavez to Lady Bird Lake between First Street and Congress Avenue.
It's the third site to be cleaned up under the city's HEAL Initiative, which saw approximately 70 individuals who were camping near the Terrazas Library and Ben White and Menchaca Road moved into the city's Southbridge Shelter.
Once a site has been cleaned up under HEAL, further camping at that location is prohibited.
Since its purchase by the city, the Northbridge property had been used as a protective lodge for high-risk individuals as a part of the city's COVID-19 emergency response.
In addition to a number of city departments, the HEAL Initiative is supported by community partners including The Other Ones Foundation, Capital Metro, Family Eldercare, and Integral Care.