Austin City Council approves temporary use of Marshalling Yard warehouse as homeless shelter

Austin American-Statesman
Ella McCarthy
July 22, 2023

The Austin City Council on Thursday approved the use of a Southeast Austin warehouse called Marshalling Yard as a temporary homeless shelter.

The warehouse is set to be used as a temporary shelter for one year and will have 300 beds. It's expected to cost the city $9 million to convert into use as a shelter.

District 5 Council Member Ryan Alter proposed a last-minute amendment that would have any unused funds go toward other housing initiatives, which was passed unanimously.

The proposal was approved in a 10-1 vote by the council on Thursday. District 9 Council Member Zohaib Qadri was the only "No" vote on the final proposal.

During Thursday's council meeting, many members of the community shared their opposition, citing concerns over safety for residents and about the city not having long-term solutions to the issue of homelessness.

“The Marshalling Yard project is the beginning of a good idea, but unfortunately that's all that it is – the beginning of a good idea,” one currently unhoused individual and member of the Texas Harm Reduction leadership team said. “There are no assurances whatsoever that there will be services provided, there is no exit strategy.”

Many people choose not to use the current shelters, despite the extreme weather, because "the actual experience of those congregate shelters can be that bad," Chris Harris, an Austin resident, told the council Thursday.

During a Tuesday work session, officials from the Austin Public Health Department shared their recommendations for addressing homelessness over the coming years, estimating that 1,500 beds will be needed by 2025 for individuals experiencing homelessness in Austin. Currently, there are 880 such beds in Austin, 466 of which are for single individuals.

The first draft of the city's 2023-24 budget allocates $55.8 million to address homelessness. The budget will not be finalized until the council approves it in August.