AUSTIN, Texas -- Voters said a decade ago that the former Home Depot in North Austin would make a perfect home for the police department, but neighbors and APD have fought the plan ever since.

The Saint John Neighborhood is eager to start a long-term vision for the 20-plus acres. District 4 Council Member Greg Casar said he plans to bring forward a resolution in December to do just that.

"People want something that respects the history of this neighborhood--especially as a historically black neighborhood--something that brings opportunities for recreation, for learning or for housing," Casar said. "On 20 acres, we could really do lots of those things."

Right now, the city's using the former hardware store and adjacent former car dealership to store composting carts and light poles.

"It is a bit of an eyesore to see the objects just kind of stacking there and used as a place to store things," said Rev. Daryl Horton of Mt. Zion Baptist Church.

Horton's church, which is located a few miles south on East 13th Street, has been a member of the Saint John Regular Baptist District Association. The religious group helped develop more than 300 acres of land during the Great Depression in an area that spanned from Lamar Blvd. to Cameron Rd. in modern-day North Austin. At the time, the land was outside Austin city limits.

"It was actually during the Depression that the Baptist Association started selling individual parcels of land, so there could be home ownership opportunities for black families here in the early 1900s," Casar said.

Casar said neighbors have opposed redeveloping the site for Austin Police Department and the Municipal Court since the plan was first pitched to voters citywide. With support from the City Council, Casar hopes a new visioning process for the site will bring about the type of change to a neighborhood that its residents want.

"I hope that there is some economic development," Horton said. "I hope that there is some structure put there to show that it is one of the neighborhoods in the City of Austin that the city cares about, that is concerned about."

The former hardware store backs to Saint John Park and pool. The pool has been out of service for five years. Redevelopment could still require a future bond election from citywide voters, or a series of public-private partnerships.