419 Emancipation will provide hundreds of beds and is expected to open at the beginning of 2026.

DALLAS — The city of Houston will soon open a new resource supercenter for the homeless called 419 Emancipation, named after its address on the city’s east side.

And Council Member Mario Castillo says the city will eventually open more locations in other areas of the city.

“I’m not exactly sure about that timeline. I know they’re actively looking,” Castillo revealed on Inside Texas Politics. “We just haven’t had anything finalized in terms of the real estate transaction or whatnot, like we had for 419 Emancipation.”

City Council approved the purchase of the $16 million property, but it still needs to choose an operator for the facility.

There will be beds for up to 320 people who are homeless, a kitchen, and mental health and substance abuse treatment areas. Residents can also receive counseling and assistance in returning to the workforce.

The hope is to open the center at the start of next year.

“The neighborhood has really advocated for a phased-in occupancy approach so that we are starting at 25% capacity for a month, making sure we’re not just opening the doors up to 300 folks overwhelmingly the system, overwhelming folks right away, and then causing some undue harm to the community,” Castillo told us.

It hasn’t been easy, as the surrounding neighborhood had – and still has – concerns. There’s a park, a middle school, and many single-family and multi-family homes in the area.

City leaders, including Council Member Castillo, held a couple of meetings to listen to the community and try to address that fear. There were 10 recommendations Castillo sent to the Mayor, and they’ve already started working on the top two.

The first was expanding what’s known as the civility ordinance, which prevents residents from sitting on sidewalks – or putting their belongings on them – between 7 a.m. – 11 p.m. It applies to everyone, not just the unhoused. But 419 Emancipation sits just outside the eastern border of the civility ordinance zone. City Council is expected to vote on this during its next meeting on Wednesday, November 12.

Castillo says another concern was the possibility of increased crime. He says the Houston Police Department has a homeless outreach team consisting of eight officers and a sergeant that will be stationed at 419 Emancipation.

“And so, you provide the community and the surrounding area with a direct line to the homeless outreach team. They’re able to respond nearby if things are becoming an issue,” he relayed.

419 Emancipation will be a low-barrier facility, meaning you can bring a partner or a pet with you. And there will be a 9 p.m. curfew for those who use the facility.

Castillo says once the center is opened, the surrounding neighborhood will be invited to an open house for a tour.

“We’ve gotta get folks stabilized and so this facility acts as a way to get them off the street, get them connected to services, get them to the navigation center or other places where they can then transition to that permanent supportive housing and have a much higher rate of success,” said the Council Member.