Austin Parks Department tells hostel on Lady Bird Lake to find new home

[JAM]

Kind of sad. Its a nice peaceful place that fits in with the scenic area. City offices would be horrendous!

Once again, Austin's sole hostel on the shores of Lady Bird Lake in Southeast Austin might be looking for a new home.

The 47-bed Hostelling International Austin has occupied a former boathouse in Town Lake Metropolitan Park on Lakeshore Boulevard since 1989. Its most recent lease expires Jan. 1. Last year, the hostel asked the city's Parks and Recreation Department to extend its lease through December 2013, with the hope of another 10-year extension.

Parks Director Sara Hensley said she has her doubts.

Any proposed extension would have to be approved by the City Council because of a Texas law governing nonpark projects on parkland.

The city has attempted to relocate the hostel in the past to use the building as office space. Hensley said the current push coincides with the boardwalk across the lake due to be completed in mid-2014. The building might have better use than as lodging for nonresidents, she said.

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/...d-2201519.html