One challenge in Austin's fight against homelessness? The cost of land
AUSTIN (KXAN) — A new report from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition (ECHO) showed even though Austin's capacity to shelter and house people experiencing homelessness has grown significantly over the past five years, it's still far from enough to meet the need.
Thursday, as Central Texas leaders talked about how they may come together to fund shelter and housing for people experiencing homelessness over the next decade, one obstacle was hard to ignore.
$350M over 10 years: Austin City Council votes to prioritize homelessness spending
Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison aptly put it: 'It's not the houses that are expensive y'all, it's the dirt underneath 'em.'
That's something Texas Sen. Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, has teased she's trying to tackle at the state level. Her staff said the state owns nearly 200 parcels of land in Travis County.
'In addition to state dollars to assist with this, I also believe that we should look at all state properties within the city of Austin and within Travis County that would be appropriate for re-purposing or co-locating deeply affordable housing so that we can continue to expand our affordable housing and most especially our supportive housing stock,' Eckhardt said.
It wouldn't be the first time the state has pitched in land to help people at risk of, or already experiencing homelessness in Austin. Camp Esperanza — a non-congregate shelter of tiny homes run by The Other Ones Foundation (TOOF) — was built on Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) land.
TxDOT recently purchased additional acreage next door to help the operation expand, something Austin Mayor Kirk Watson said at the time was 'one of those examples, I think, of where government works.'
Homeless shelter Camp Esperanza could double in size after TxDOT land purchase
But barring additional help from the state, the city of Austin may have to continue to rely on its own residents. You're already paying for land acquisition through Austin's affordable housing bonds.
Austin voters have approved multiple housing bonds over the past decade: one for $55 million in 2006, another for $65 million in 2013, then for $250 million in 2018 and most recently $350 million in 2022.
Austinites voted for more affordable housing. Where did your money go?
KXAN has previously reported the largest chunk of funding from the 2018 bond went to purchasing land. Of that $250 million, $100 million was set aside for land acquisition. The city told us it's been able to buy nearly 60 acres of undeveloped land and three hotels with that money.
As for the most recent bond in 2022, the city of Austin has told us that even though they have less strict buckets for how they'll allocate that money, it will largely be used the same way as the 2018 bond, and large chunks will go toward land acquisition.
'I think it might be one of the most important components to addressing affordability in the city of Austin is using our assets and comprehensively taking an assessment of our assets and allocating those resources,' Harper-Madison said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Axios
35 minutes ago
- Axios
Amid backlash, Tesla remained resilient in Texas
Even as Tesla deliveries plunged nationally this year amid Elon Musk's very visible (if short-lived) alliance with President Trump, there was at least one state where Tesla registrations were up: Texas. Why it matters: The registration data, obtained by Axios through public information requests, indicates loyalty to the brand in its home base, including Texas' large urban and suburban counties. The depth of conservatives' enthusiasm for Musk's automobiles now faces a major test amid the absolute meltdown last week between the Tesla CEO and the president. By the numbers: Texans registered 12,918 new Teslas in the first three months of 2025, a period when Musk, who contributed more than $250 million to a pro-Trump super PAC during the 2024 election campaign, was enmeshed in the Trump administration as the overseer of DOGE, the president's cost-cutting initiative. Over the same period in 2024, Texans registered 10,679 Teslas. That's a 21% increase year over year. The intrigue: The spike in Texas registrations came as Tesla was flailing elsewhere. Tesla's vehicle deliveries plunged 13% globally in the first quarter of 2025 (336,681 electric vehicles) compared with Q1 2024 (386,810). Tesla vehicles were torched at showrooms and the brand's reputation cratered. Zoom in: Tesla saw year-over-year improvements in its sales in some of the most populous Texas counties. In Travis County, new Tesla registrations grew from 1,369 in the first quarter of 2024 to 1,424 during the first quarter of 2025. In Harris County, they grew from 1,526 to 1,837 during the same period. Tesla registration grew from 1,316 to 1,546 in Collin County and from 990 to 1,146 in Dallas County. In Bexar County, registrations grew from 631 to 664. What they're saying:"It's homegrown pride," is how Matt Holm, president and founder of the Tesla Owners Club of Austin, explains the car company's resilience to Axios. "And regardless of all the drama going on these days, people can differentiate between the product and everything else going on, and it's just a great product." "Elon has absolutely and irreversibly blown up bridges to some potential customers," says Alexander Edwards, president of California-based research firm Strategic Vision, which has long surveyed the motivations of car buyers. "People who bought Teslas for environmental friendliness, that's pretty much gone," Edwards tells Axios. Yes, but: The company had been enjoying an increasingly positive reputation among more conservative consumers. Musk was viewed favorably by 80% of Texas Republicans polled by the Texas Politics Project in April — and unfavorably by 83% of Democrats. In what now feels like a political lifetime ago, Trump himself even promoted Teslas by promising to buy one in support of Musk earlier this year. "In some pockets, like Austin, you have that tech group that loves what Tesla has to offer, can do some mental gymnastics about Musk, and looks at Rivian and says that's not what I want or might be priced out," Edwards says. Between the lines:"Being in the state of Texas, you're naturally conditioned to think you're better than everyone else in the U.S. And when you buy a Tesla" — a status symbol — "that's what you're saying. It doesn't surprise me that there's an increase in sales" in Texas, Edwards says. Plus: Tesla's resilience in Texas could have practical reasons as well, Edwards says. Texas homes — as opposed to, say, apartments in cities on the East Coast — are more likely to have a garage to charge a car in, he adds. What's next: Musk said late last month that Tesla was experiencing a "major rebound in demand" — without providing specifics. But that was before things went absolutely haywire with Trump and Tesla stock took a bath last week.
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
Karoline Leavitt Squirms Over Maria Bartiromo's Blunt Question About Elon Musk
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Sunday tried to laugh off Fox News host Maria Bartiromo's question about an alleged physical altercation that reportedly erupted between top Trump ally-turned-detractor Elon Musk and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Citing a news report from The Washington Post that now-departed Department of Government Efficiency boss Musk body-checked Bessent during a blowout over a difference in opinion at the White House in April, Bartiromo said: 'We're all trying to figure out what happened here and how come this got to this level.' She then asked Leavitt, 'What happened? Did he body-check the treasury secretary in the White House?' Leavitt chuckled and tried to spin the clash as one of the 'healthy disagreements amongst the Cabinet and Elon Musk' that she claimed only 'really speaks to the heart of this Cabinet and the president's team, that they can have these robust disagreements and then still come together to do what's right for the people they are serving.' Bartiromo pressed later, 'What I'm trying to understand here is how rough this got, because the president said that Elon Musk disrespected the office of the president.' 'Now, we know that there was real disrespect in a lot of those X posts from Elon Musk, for sure. But did he actually get physical?' she continued. 'Was there a fistfight that he body-checked the treasury secretary?' 'I certainly wouldn't describe it as a fistfight, Maria,' Leavitt responded. 'It was definitely a disagreement. Although, I was not there, I didn't witness it with my own eyes. I heard about it through secondhand reporting. But again, we've moved on from that. The president has moved on from it.' Watch here: Marjorie Taylor Greene's 'Lesson For Us All' Leaves Seth Meyers Absolutely Floored 6 Wildly Different Ways Fox News Hosts Struggled To Process Trump-Musk Blowup German Leader Politely Shuts Down Trump's Hot Take On D-Day 1 Subtle Barb In Trump-Musk Blow-Out Has Dana Bash Saying 'Wow, Wow, Wow'


Bloomberg
5 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Trump-Musk Meltdown Spurs Flash of Long-Gone Twitter on X
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter with reporting and analysis about the business of tech from Bloomberg's journalists around the world. Today, Austin Carr writes that President Donald Trump's public feud with Elon Musk last week provided a brief reminder of the way Twitter used to be a hub for shared cultural moments. Help us improve Bloomberg's newsletters: Take a quick survey to share your thoughts on your signup experience and what you'd like to see in the future.