What's happening
City officials decided last year to convert the Austin Convention Center's east side Marshalling Yard warehouse into a shelter as part of broader plans to boost local capacity. The facility opened late last August and has since taken in more than 1,000 people; the city's annual goal was to serve 800 clients.
City Council voted earlier this year to shut down the shelter by March 2025 with "ramp-down" activities starting ahead of that closure. This month however, Mayor Kirk Watson proposed keeping the Marshalling Yard shelter open indefinitely given its "critical" role for those seeking permanent housing while the city searches for a new, longer-term shelter site.
Council members approved Watson's proposal on Sept. 26, despite some reservations about the extension's details and funding. The vote came after several community members asked to keep the facility open, given their views on its overall benefits for local homeless response.
Zooming in
Warehouse shelter operations overseen by San Antonio-based Endeavors were initially budgeted at $9.14 million through this August. An additional $500,000 was dedicated to the extension until March 2025.
About $6.87 million of that budget was spent through July, which is about one full year of operations.
The project has been funded through some of the city's federal American Rescue Plan Act allocation being used for homeless response. Watson's resolution now asks city staff to find money outside Austin's homeless services budget to continue operations beyond early next year.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax said City Council will receive updates and have input about the potential funding and selection of new shelter site options as planning continues.
Put in perspective
While sharing some worry about an indefinite timeline and uncertain funding for future operations, Watson said the move was needed to make sure the city doesn't take a step back on its shelter efforts.
"Those who are experiencing homelessness cannot wait for inaction," Watson said in a social media post. "The Marshalling Yard is a critical piece of our [Housing-focused Encampment Assistance Link] initiative, which helps relocate people living unsheltered in unsafe environments through the encampment clean-up initiative known as HEAL. I’m thrilled the council has approved this item."
Several other council members stated their support for the move, citing the shelter as critical for Austinites most in need of assistance and the homeless response system at large. Council member Chito Vela also noted the Marshalling Yard's approximately $17,667 daily operating cost is among the lowest among city-owned shelter spaces.
“I feel very uncomfortable with the notion of saying we’re going to spend this money without knowing where it’s going to come from or how much we need, or really having a plan in place," she said. "That is not to say that we don’t need shelter and that continuing the Marshalling Yard might to be a good idea, but I just don’t have that information."
Homeless Strategy Officer David Gray said the Marshalling Yard has become a key piece of Austin's work addressing homelessness since last summer, including client intake at other city-owned shelters that would've been cut off with the facility's closure.
"The Marshalling Yard has allowed the Homeless Strategy Office, community organizations and law enforcement to quickly refer unhoused individuals into a shelter bed. This has been instrumental in the city’s efforts to compassionately close encampments and respond to calls for service (e.g., 311)," Gray said in an email.
Under the previous closure plan, Gray said intake at the Marshalling Yard was already restricted and staff had been working to house or relocate all current clients.
By the numbers
A total of 1,008 people experiencing homelessness have been sheltered at the Marshalling Yard so far, with about 250 remaining at the facility as of late September.
The city reported a total of 764 clients have left the shelter so far. Of those, 172—22.5%—have moved into housing, while the rest either left to due what the city refers to as "negative exits" that can include hospitalization; arrest; a return to homelessness; or to an unknown destination.
Watson's resolution also calls for the Homeless Strategy Office to set a new target for positive exits from the Marshalling Yard into housing, alongside a plan to reach that benchmark.
The Marshalling Yard's 300 beds represent almost 18% of the estimated 1,382 shelter beds that now exist around Austin. That includes city-owned properties like Northbridge, Southbridge and downtown shelters, as well as several centers operated by other local organizations.
