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.
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