Travis County sells land for new homeless shelter

The Travis County Commissioners Court on Tuesday helped the Salvation Army of Austin take a giant leap toward its goal of opening a new shelter for homeless women and children in far East Austin. The commissioners unanimously approved the sale of 7.5 acres of county-owned land at 4523 Tannehill Lane to Dick Rathgeber, the chair of the SAA’s Capital Campaign, for $210,000. A spokesperson for the nonprofit told the Austin Monitor that Rathgeber intends to donate the land to the Salvation Army for the construction of the shelter. In a statement, Salvation Army Area Commander Lt. Col. Henry Gonzales said, “There is an invisible crisis of family homelessness in Austin, and today’s vote will help us address this challenge for our great city. We are deeply grateful for and humbled by Mr. Rathgeber’s generosity and vision to care for the most vulnerable of our citizens. We are pleased to have worked collaboratively with the Travis County Commissioners to see this vote come to fruition.”