AUSTIN, Texas — An old hotel property in northwest Austin has been revamped three years after the city bought it.
Pecan Gardens is now helping give people exiting homelessness a place to live, after the city spent over $11 million to buy and renovate the property.
Currently, Pecan Gardens houses 46 people, but it will eventually house up to 78.
Alesandra Dominguez is a crisis response director for ECHO, or the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition. The organization said on any given night, more than 6,300 people are unhoused in Austin.
ECHO and groups like Family Eldercare, which runs Pecan Gardens, work together to get people into shelter spaces.
"What we have always said [is] the way to end homelessness is through housing, so having another facility," Dominguez said." "They can get out of this crisis, they will have the support [and it] makes a significant help on their life, on the value they feel in themselves."
According to Family Eldercare, to get into Pecan Gardens, residents must:
- Be 55 or older
- Spend 30% of their income on rent
- Have a disability
- Go through the proper outreach groups to get placed there
The shelter space didn't come without controversy.
Williamson County sued the city of Austin, saying the county was left out of the purchasing process. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by a district court judge.
People like nearby hotel owner Rupal Chaudhari agreed that Williamson County was justified in the lawsuit.
"I still believe this wasn't a good resolution for find solutions to homelessness,” Chaudhari said.
Chaudhari said there are better ways to spend millions of taxpayer dollars to help people experiencing homelessness.
"Hotels are the most expensive ways. These programs have not worked anywhere around the country," Chaudhari said, also sharing that she believes Williamson County is too far from services that can help people.
But since Pecan Gardens opened, Chaudhari admits she hasn't seen any major safety issues near the property.
For Family Eldercare and other outreach groups like it, they said they will continue offering the best solutions they can to help people experiencing homelessness.