Politics & Government

Purchase Of Hotel For Austin Homeless Blocked

City officials had hoped to buy the Microtel Inn and Suites on Metro Center Drive before learning of building restrictions.

AUSTIN, TX — Efforts to buy a second hotel for transformation into a homeless shelter are now on hold due to building restrictions, according to a published report.

City officials had hoped to buy the Microtel Inn and Suites on Metro Center Drive, located near the intersection of State Highway 71 and U.S. Highway 183 that would have housed 71 homeless people. The purchase is now on hold because building restrictions related to the overlay near the Austin airport prevent the structure from being remodeled to house a homeless shelter, as KXAN reported.

The aborted purchase comes nearly a month after city council officials voted to buy the Rodeway Inn at Interstate 35 and Oltorf Street in order to house homeless people.

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