AUSTIN (KXAN) — Some neighbors say they’re worried about the city’s plan to relocate a homeless housing navigation center to a new building near Interstate 35 and East Oltorf Street.
“I have an 11-year-old daughter –she’s at Keeling Middle School, and the drop-off on several days a week is just across from the proposed facility,” said Fred Deworken, who lives near the proposed site. “It’s the wrong kind of element to add.”
Deworken and other neighbors wrote to KXAN, saying they are worried the facility will bring an influx of crime to the area and negatively impact nearby schools. William B. Travis High School is a few minutes walk from the proposed location.
“I’m deeply concerned,” Deworken said.
The city announced earlier this summer it would move the controversial homeless resource hub in south Austin — the Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center — to a new location. On Wednesday, Austin’s Homeless Strategy Office said it was eyeing a building at 2401 S. I-35 Frontage Road for a new housing navigation center
“It has sufficient indoor space for us to provide critical services indoors, while also good outdoor space for us to do some purpose-built activities,” said David Gray, the city’s homeless strategy officer, on Wednesday.
The city said the new navigation center would serve as a centralized hub for intake, referrals, and access to critical services.
“As a City-owned facility, HSO is able to and will ensure the site operates safely by incorporating Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design principles and implementing strong safeguards against non-sanctioned activities that disrupt public health and safety,” a press release read.
The Sunrise Center is currently located at Sunrise Community Church, near Menchaca Road and U.S. 290. For years, people living nearby — especially families with children at Joslin Elementary School — have raised concerns about drug activity, loitering and safety.
The situation escalated in 2024 when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the center, calling it a “common nuisance” and accusing it of being a “magnet” for drug and criminal activity.
The Austin City Council is scheduled to vote on the relocation plan in October. Before that, the city will hold focused engagement sessions to gather feedback from nearby residents and businesses. Community members can also send questions or comments to homeless.input@austintexas.gov.
Despite community pushback, Sunrise founder Mark Hilbelink said he welcomes the city’s investment in homelessness services.
“Sunrise is excited once again to see the City of Austin investing in the full spectrum of what it takes to move people from homelessness to housing and avoiding homelessness altogether. These are important, strategic steps to help our community reduce the total amount of people living unsheltered in our community, which is a goal everyone can get behind,” he told KXAN.
Their staff helped nearly 20,000 clients last year, served almost 100,000 meals, and answered more than 45,000 hotline calls, according to the organization’s website.
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