Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center named tentative operator of new South Austin facility

AUSTIN, Texas - The city of Austin is one step closer toward opening a new coordinated housing navigation center in south Austin.

Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center has been named a tentative operator for the city-owned facility that will provide coordinated, housing-focused navigation services for those at risk of homelessness.  

The city says the tentative selection comes following a competitive process and represents a significant milestone in the city’s effort to strengthen Austin’s homeless response system, but neighbors are worried given Sunrise’s track record.

What they're saying:

This property near I-35 and East Oltorf will serve as a hub for at-risk Austinites seeking housing support and services. The city purchased the former game room for $4.3 million.

 City staff say the area has transit access, minimal impact on neighborhoods, and is near the Southbridge shelter.

"If we don't bring these services, what we're going to see is more people in that community on the streets, more children, more families on the streets, and that's not something that any austinite wants," said David Gray, Austin Homeless Strategy Officer back in October 2025.

But many neighbors remain opposed, pointing out the site is within walking distance of Travis High School and Travis Heights Elementary, saying they are already dealing with an influx of homeless people in the area.

"It really has raised a level of concern at the current state of safety in our neighborhood and what could we be doing about that now," said Morgan Moran de Sanchez, who lives near the proposed navigation center.

Sunrise’s current location sits across from Joslin Elementary along Menchaca Road near Ben White Boulevard. In 2024, the state filed a lawsuit against Sunrise, claiming the facility contributes to crime and drug activity in the area.

Multiple times last year, Austin City Council member Ryan Alter told FOX 7 the city was moving Sunrise’s operations to this site.

"We're in some of the final stages of acquiring a new site to have a housing navigation center where we can move Sunrise's current operation to," Alter previously said.

But then the message changed.

"No, we're not purchasing this and saying that we are only doing this for Sunrise, and this is going to be just a specially carved out Sunrise operation. We are identifying the need for these navigation services, seeing what's happening at Sunrise given that they don't have the space and the facility to do this and recognizing as we go through the process they might participate in that process, but it will go through that process," said Alter.

On Thursday, the Homeless Strategy Office announced Sunrise could potentially run the new site.

"How do we learn from what happened and put a proactive plan in place to ensure that the neighborhood is safe," said Moran De Sanchez.

While city leaders have previously said this facility won't harm the neighborhood, community members disagree.

"When I hear from our politicians, this is not another Sunrise and this is not a done deal. And now we fast-forward all these steps. It's another Sunrise in our neighborhood," said Moran De Sanchez.

Sunrise sent FOX 7 a statement saying it’s pleased to have been selected as the operator and it’s committed to working with the city to prioritize the public safety and mitigate unintended impacts as highlighted in the city's good neighbor provisions. As the largest provider of homelessness services in central Texas, it has already rehoused 800 people in 2026.

"They provide valuable services, but it has to be done differently so that children aren't coming across lethal doses of fentanyl on playground equipment or needles are not coming into contact with elementary school students. We cannot let that happen again," said Moran De Sanchez.

What's next:

The city says the tentative award remains subject to approval by the city council.

City staff will present the recommendation to the city council for consideration on July 23.

Operations are expected to start in June 2027.

Homeless CrisisSouth Austin