City might buy hotel for homeless

Plans for Garden Inn on East Side are part of goal for housing initiative to fill ‘urgent need’

San Antonio might buy the Garden Inn on the city’s East Side to house the homeless.

The facility would be different from emergency shelters, with people accepted based on their level of vulnerability. Tenants would sign a lease and pay rent — 30 percent of their income, which may be nothing or a few hundred dollars for some people, said Patrick Steck, assistant director of human services.

“We’re confident there can be successful ways to reduce the homeless population in our community,” Steck said.

It’s a housing-first model that works to stabilize someone’s living situation. Tenants would have a case manager on site who can help them address the cause of their homelessness. Case managers may help someone access health care or mental health services, receive substance use treatment or get job training.

San Antonio currently has a lease at a Days Inn downtown that SAMMinistries operates as an emergency shelter, but it’s intended to be a short-term stay of a few months. The city also leased a Holiday Inn that Haven for Hope operates to reduce the spread of COVID-19 at Haven’s main campus, although the inn will be closing soon.

Tenants typically stay in housing with on-site support services for years, Steck said.

South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless recently released its point-in-time count, a single-night census of people experiencing homelessness in San Antonio and Bexar County on March 1. It found chronic homelessness increased by 77 percent from 2020 — but unsheltered chronic homelessness increased by just 4.5 percent.

The Garden Inn — at 211 N. WW White Road in Skyline Park near Interstate 10 and Loop 410 — could add 80 housing units with support services on-site. The city is still negotiating with the owner and doesn’t have a purchase price to share, Steck said.

Planning is in the early stag