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Austin City Council will decide next week whether to enter into preliminary negotiations with Aspen Heights Partners regarding the redevelopment of the former Health South property and its accompanying parking garage, on Red River Street.
The Health South site, at 1215 Red River Street, would be part of the city's burgeoning health innovation district—a nexus of academic, business and public tenants focused on new health policies, systems and products—along with the redeveloped Brackenridge Campus, Dell Medical School and Dell Seton Medical Center.
As proposed, the district could provide nearly 3,000 new permanent jobs, increased land value, a new property tax base and $800 million in economic output, according to an analysis commissioned by the Downtown Austin Alliance.
It would also be surrounded by other destinations—including the University of Texas at Austin campus, the urban parks network Waterloo Greenway, the Red River Cultural District and the Capital Complex—and served by a realigned Red River Street, which UT is constructing to make space for its new basketball stadium.
(Downtown Austin Alliance)
The Health South redevelopment would serve as a catalyst project, weaving together the different entities of the innovation district and serving its neighboring sites, Economic Redevelopment Program Manager Margaret Shaw told council during a work session on Tuesday.
The city purchased the Health South property and its parking garage in 2017. At that time, council directed staff to issue a solicitation to redevelop the property, with a focus on including affordable housing. Due to the pandemic, the solicitation process was extended slightly, from November 2019 through April of this year.
"We were quite pleased with the response from the market, given the fact that we were under a global pandemic and real estate was quite up in the area," Shaw said. "We received four proposals in strong, well known partners locally and nationally."
City staff recommended Austin-based developer Aspen Heights Partners, which was behind the Independent, a luxury condo tower downtown, based on its proposal. It includes two towers—a 36-story residential building with 348 apartments and 160 condos and a 15-story office tower—connected by an elevated park plaza. More than a quarter of the residential units would be designated affordable, targeting residents who earn between 50% and 60% of the median family income, with ownership options for those earning 80% of the median family income.
"I find it to be comprehensive and amazing, and it addresses the need in the community (and) it addresses the need in that area," District 1 Council Member Natasha Harper Madison said. "I'm very happy to support this project in District 1."
Council members postponed the vote until next Thursday to allow residents more time to provide feedback on the proposal. If council grants its approval, city staff will begin preliminary negotiations with Aspen Heights Partners, which could take up to six months. Once that process is completed, the city would move on to negotiating a master development agreement for the project, which could take up to two years, prior to the start of construction.
Over the last year, some council members have suggested using the site as an emergency homeless shelter, which prompted disagreement on the dias.
In the meantime, Austin Resource Recovery has used the former Health South parking garage, at 606 East 12th Street, as part of its Violet KeepSafe Storage program, which provides storage for homeless residents.
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Popular
The Montopolis Dollar tree, run by one employee, closed earlier this month only after an AC specialist said it was unsafe. (Claire Partain)
It's been a few weeks since a viral TikTok revealed poor working conditions at the Montopolis Dollar Tree in southeast Austin, and employee Maggie Lopez is still feeling its effects.
Lopez was filmed working alone at the location May 1 in a since-deleted video that saw 2.9 million views and over 450,000 likes.
In the video, stacked boxes littered the floor, shelves were left unstocked and a leaky, broken air conditioning unit welcomed customers into the understaffed storefront.
@trishmartinez32#x_bazan06#fyp#fypシ#tiktok#friends#like#comment#4upage#4u#share#viralvideo#trending#wow#4upageシ♬ original sound - Patricia Martinez
Lopez, who now works at the dollar store's Springdale location, says she was left with the aftermath of a 90-hour workweek, lost wages and a mystery illness after the store closed a few days later.
"Nobody ever told me... that there was no air conditioning. They didn't tell me there was danger of getting robbed," Lopez told Austonia. "Nobody said anything... they didn't care."
The location didn't shut its doors because of the TikTok exposure: instead, an AC unit specialist doing routine maintenance found employees working in extreme heat and said it was too hot for employees to continue working.
"To operate a business, you have to have your temperature within a certain parameter," Ikaika, the specialist who didn't disclose his full name to protect his job, told Austonia. "As soon as you walk in, you start sweating... it's not good at all."
Lopez said working in 90+ degree heat became the norm in her two months at the location as air conditioning units remained broken for months before the closure. She added some employees, including her former manager and several customers, passed out in the store due to the heat. But she said company leadership remained unresponsive.
Lopez said she sent her district manager, Veronica Oyervides, screenshots of 90+ degree temperatures inside the store. (Maggie Lopez)
Four days after the air conditioning repairman told employees they should no longer keep working at the store, Lopez said her district manager, Veronica Oyervides, was asking her to come back in to prep the location for reopening. Lopez worked May 8 in the shuttered store prepping it for a reopening, which has yet to happen. Oyervides has declined to comment.
Ever since she started working in the deteriorating Dollar Tree, Lopez said she often wakes up with nosebleeds. She said she's constantly thirsty, her hands shake, and she's experiencing headaches and mood swings—symptoms she believes are due to long-term exposure to mold.
Former assistant manager Linnea Bradley told Austonia she has been hospitalized with symptoms linked to heat and stress after working at the store.
"We are sick and corporate does not give a shit," Lopez said. "What kind of damage did these stupid units do to our bodies?"
Lopez hasn't sought care for her symptoms. She says she makes $13.50 an hour and doesn't have health insurance.
Former employees have more complaints than just the heat: Lopez said that personal safety became a concern in the understaffed store. Catherine, a former employee who wished to only reveal her first name, said she's witnessed large-scale theft and instances of mismanagement in her months as a stocker at the location.
"They have no security, no cameras... they don't want you to have anything in writing," Catherine told Austonia. "It's just complete chaos."
Catherine said that she and other hourly employees were given zero hours for weeks on end as managers, who work on salary, were left to run the store alone from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. She said some managers became so desperate they were hiring homeless people to help stock shelves in exchange for a drink and a bite to eat.
While Catherine (top, middle) often had zero-hour weekly schedules, Martinez, who was paid on salary, worked back-to-back 90-hour workweeks. (Catherine) (Claire Partain)
"They actually did have people willing to work, they just refused to give them hours," Catherine said. "I'm not understanding whether Dollar Tree wants to go under... are they doing this as a tax break?"
Other Austin Dollar Tree locations have reported similar issues. Former manager Jonathan Martinez, who says he was supposed to work 45 hours a week, says he was racking up 90+ hour workweeks and sleeping in the store as he shouldered both the Montopolis and William Cannon locations while his newborn baby was in the ICU in March.
Martinez kept extra clothes in this office after working seven-day weeks at two Dollar Tree locations. (Claire Partain)
Martinez said he slept on boxes as he juggled the job and visiting his newborn in the ICU. (Claire Partain)
Martinez said he slept on boxes as he juggled the job and visiting his newborn in the ICU. (Claire Partain)
"As long as the store stays open, there are corporate people getting bonuses," Martinez, who quit last week after receiving a $100 annual bonus, told Austonia. "Six months ago, when corporate people had a shitload of bonuses, that's when they upped the price (of everything in the store from $1 to $1.25)."
In the six months since Dollar Tree hiked its prices to $1.25, it's gained plenty of mostly negative national attention. In February, the Food and Drug Administration shut down an Arkansas distribution plant due to a massive rodent infestation, and several lawsuits have ensued. The company has also come under fire for selling allegedly expired over-the-counter medicine and its worker shortage at locations across the country.
One employee, who still works for Dollar Tree and wished to remain anonymous, said that they've seen or heard that many area locations are near their breaking point.
"I've seen the good, the bad, the bad to worse," they said. "And it's always a rinse repeat kind of thing... How many more (stores) will go? And what about the employees?"
"Every time I would tell (Oyervides) 'I'm just going to close, I can't stand it anymore,' she would say, 'No, no, no,'" Lopez said. "And I'd be so upset because why? They have my paycheck. It's just been mortifying... the most horrible year of my life."
Dollar Tree's regional director did not respond to requests for comment from Austonia.
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(Pexels)
Grab a helmet and get active this morning by celebrating Bike to Work Day alongside the city.
The community will gather for a celebration at Austin City Hall starting at 8 a.m. with free tacos, coffee and giveaways.
A few things to remember around bikes:
- Over 80% of bicycle crashes happen at intersections
- It’s important to wear reflective clothing during dark hours
- Drivers should keep a distance—take at least three feet of space when passing.
Residents can find the most comfortable, safe bike routes via the 2022 Austin Bike Map, or rent a MetroBike with the code B2WD2022.