The city's first owned housing navigation center needs $2 million in work before it opens. The council votes Nov. 19
The 1970 building at 2401 S. I-35, bought for up to $4.375 million after an 8-3 vote last year, has no working air conditioning and does not meet disability-access rules, staff wrote. Sunrise would run it.
The building Austin bought to be its first city-owned housing navigation center needs up to $2 million in work before it can open, according to Item 31 on the City Council's Nov. 19 agenda.
The staff memo describes the building at 2401 S. Interstate 35 as built in 1970, vacant, with "no functional air conditioning," and not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. The item would hire Balfour Beatty Construction Group to turn it into "a safe, accessible, and energy efficient resource center for people experiencing homelessness."
What the center is for
Staff wrote that the center would offer food, showers, health care, case management and information on social programs. Austin Homeless Strategies and Operations controls the building. It will be run by Sunrise, the outside provider the department chose as operator.
"If this item is not approved," the memo says, the department "would not be able to deliver their Housing Navigation Center social programs through Sunrise to the public."
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How the work would be bought
The renovation would be a single assignment under the city's job order contract program, which the council approved in January with 10 contractors. Job order contracts use pre-priced tasks for repairs and renovations, and staff wrote that the method will open the center "as quickly as possible." State law requires council approval for any single assignment over $500,000. The $2 million, including contingency, would come from Austin Facilities Management's deferred maintenance funds.
Staff expect little public impact. Work outside the fence would be limited to a short stretch along the sidewalk, and the building has no current occupants. It is in ZIP code 78741, in District 3.
What our records add
The purchase split the council. On Oct. 9, 2025, the council voted 8-3 to buy the 1.39-acre property, including the 12,313-square-foot building, for up to $4,375,000, with closing costs. Council Members José Velásquez, Zohaib "Zo" Qadri and Marc Duchen voted no. Velásquez represents District 3, where the building sits. An independent appraisal supported the $4.35 million price, and the purchase included space leased to a private tenant through March 31, 2026, according to the purchase memo. That memo said staff would come back to the council for building improvements, as they are now.
Money for operations. In the July 16 budget presentation, staff listed $500,000 from the HOPE fund to support the navigation center's operations. On July 23 the council voted 10-0 to add $250,000 to Sunrise's agreement for street outreach and housing navigation, bringing it to up to $1 million.
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What the department says it is for. At a May 5 work session, Homeless Strategies and Operations Director David Gray called the South Austin center "a critical piece of our system," meant to help households at risk of homelessness stay housed and help people already homeless find housing quickly.
Total so far. Counting the purchase ceiling and this renovation, the city's capital commitment to the site would be up to about $6.4 million, not counting operations.
What's next
Item 31 is on the Nov. 19 agenda, which also includes the rest of the meeting's big-dollar items. The memo does not give an opening date. Our stories on encampment cleanups and the No Wrong Door crisis program cover the city's other homelessness work.