AUSTIN, Texas — Plans to stop using a temporary emergency homeless shelter in southeast Austin are on hold again.
Austin City Council took steps to keep Marshalling Yard open on Thursday after city leaders planned to stop using it in 2025.
City leaders have been on the hunt for an alternative to the warehouse, which was converted into a shelter. However, despite looking into other city facilities, vacant land and private real estate, they've been unable to find a replacement.
With the city looking into an alternative before shutting Marshalling Yard down, Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax has been directed to find funding to keep it open until a new shelter is ready.
Austin opened the 300-bed shelter in August 2023 by using federal COVID-19 funds to run it. It's served more than 1,000 since opening, but concerns remain about leaving Marshalling Yard open indefinitely.
"We simply can't start going backward," Mayor Kirk Watson's office said recently about the shelter. "I'm also worried about where the money will come from ... My resolution asks the city manager to identify funds ... We're not prepared to make the call right now about where the money comes from."
According to Watson, the Homeless Strategy Office estimates that the city is still short more than 600 beds, even with Marshalling Yard open.