AUSTIN, Texas — The Former Candlewood Suites location on Pecan Park Boulevard near Lakeline Mall will now give unhoused elderly people a place to live.
Pecan Gardens is now open, three years since the city bought the Old Candlewood Hotel property in northwest Austin for $9.5 million, with a subsequent $2 million more invested for renovations.
The facility is run by Family Eldercare.
"We currently have 78 units, that is the max," said Oneka Gaskin with Family Eldercare. "We currently have 46 residents housed at the moment."
Each resident gets their own room, with the size of the rooms ranging from 313 to 399 square feet.
"They are in disbelief, not just having a room or home, but to have place set up with items they need," said Gaskin.
In order to qualify to live at Pecan Gardens, residents must be 55 years or older, be chronically homeless and have a disability.
It has a community kitchen, a clinic where the UT School of Nursing provides treatment for the residents, a common area to watch TV, a peer support office, a fitness center and an outdoor garden.
All 78 residents are expected to move in by the end of September.