SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio leaders are considering buying a hotel to help house the city’s homeless population that is looking for assistance.
The discussions come a day after city crews dismantled a homeless camp downtown under I-37, displacing dozens of people who lived there.
During Thursday’s city council meeting, City Manager Erik Walsh discussed one possibility to provide temporary housing for those without a home.
“We are also looking into the possibility of purchasing a hotel or hotel space for transitional housing,” Walsh said.
A spokesman for the Department of Human Services said city staff are still gathering cost information, and it will consider properties from across the community, “though proximity to existing service providers is a consideration.”
The city is currently leasing two hotels already to help house the homeless population. One 300-room hotel is operated by Haven for Hope as an extension of its shelter, while the other serves as a safe place for homeless people with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 to safely isolate.