Amarillo council approves 10-year lease to help fund new day center and sublease to Transformation Park

The Amarillo City Council on May 27 approved a 10-year lease agreement that will fund construction of a new day center and allow the city to sublease space to Transformation Park (TRC), a nonprofit operating a night shelter and cabin community. Council members voted to adopt the resolution after an extended public discussion in which city staff, nonprofit leaders and residents described how the day center and nearby night shelter are intended to function together as part of the city's plan to address unsheltered homelessness.

Council members said the city's portion of the project would pay roughly $4 million over the 10-year lease toward construction of an estimated $10 million facility being built by Guy and Saunders Resource Center (GSRC). City staff said the new building will house community development offices (about 7,800 square feet) on the same campus as day-center services provided by GSRC and program space operated by Transformation Park under a sublease. Payments to the building owner are set to begin only after the new facility receives a certificate of occupancy, staff said.

Supporters described the day-night pairing as a coordinated approach that moves people from outreach to shelter to case management and, ultimately, permanent housing. Jason Rillsberger (Community Development staff) explained the two-part strategy: the night shelter already open provides low-barrier safe space and a cabin community while a purpose-built day center would offer case management, medical and mental-health services, workforce and navigation services and a commercial kitchen to serve meals. Mayor Cole Stanley and the city manager emphasized that the city is contributing staff capacity and some funds while relying on nonprofits and philanthropy to deliver operations.

Critics at public comment and during council debate raised questions about whether the lease is effectively a public subsidy to a private nonprofit and asked for more public documentation. Speaker Mike Fisher called the arrangement "a gift in the form of a lease" and urged the council to require competitive bidding. Others voiced concerns about legal limits on using public funds with private property. Council members acknowledged the concerns, and staff committed to preparing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or explanatory memo outlining the arrangement, timing, the flow of funds, and the long-term ownership plan so the public record is clearer.

The city manager and community development staff said the majority of the community development department's funding is grant-based (federal and state), and that the department does not own public housing but administers programs such as Housing Choice Vouchers and CDBG/HOME entitlement funds. Staff said the grant-driven programs that support homelessness outreach and housing navigation will continue. Rillsberger said Community Development currently employs roughly 40'45 staff and is overcrowded in the Sims Building; relocating the department adjacent to services is intended to improve coordination.

Council directed staff to prepare an MOU and related explanatory materials and to publish details about funding sources and timing for council and public review. The motion to adopt the resolution authorizing the lease passed (vote recorded as a majority approval; council did not read an exact roll-call tally during the meeting). Staff said submittal of the final lease and the CO-dependent payment schedule will be added to the public record.

Why this matters: City leaders framed the lease as a way to keep people safer, streamline case management and use public staff resources to increase the odds that people experiencing homelessness transition to permanent housing rather than remain unsheltered. Opponents pressed for more transparency about the fiscal details, the legal limits on public support of private property, and the oversight that will attach to taxpayer dollars.

What's next: Staff will prepare an MOU and provide a clear explainer for council and the public showing what the city is paying, the construction timeline tied to a CO, how grant-funded programs intersect, and how the asset will transfer to public ownership after the contractual period. Community partners said they will continue fundraising and phased operations while the building is completed.

Sources: Public comment and council debate at Amarillo City Council meeting, May 27, 2025. Council action: resolution to adopt the lease and authorizing documents (motion passed).