Leaks Plague South Shore Residents

Water damage in the South Shore Apartments stairwell (Photo by John Anderson)

Tenants of the South Shore District, the luxury apartment complex that replaced the Shoreline Apartments in 2011, report to the Chronicle that they've been frustrated with developer Grayco Partners' handling of water damage to several apartments. In a letter dated November 2015, Grayco president Jeff Gray informed South Shore residents of water damage sustained to Building 2 due to "record rainfall" over the course of the year. "We recognize the inconvenience this has caused," the letter reads, "and hope to finish the needed repair work as quickly as possible."

Laura Cisneros, a resident at South Shore since November 2015, said that she and her three daughters have suffered from medical complications since water leaking from a rainfall in March caused stains to appear. Nikki McCormick, South Shore's property manager, said that after any significant rainfall management contracts Servpro to do mold remediation, and so far the inspections have not produced cause for alarm. "We understand that there have been incidents of water leaking in some units, but when people say that there is mold in the apartments, there is no truth behind that," she said. Cisneros said she's not satisfied with the property manager's evaluation of her apartment and is in the process of consulting a third-party mold-testing service.

Eric Gates, a resident since 2014, said that rain has fallen through the ceiling of his apartment and that his family has also suffered medical complications from water damage. He said that management has actively worked against tenants' attempts to organize around this issue and that the owners have offered $200 gift cards in exchange for residents redacting negative reviews on Yelp! "All they care about is how quickly they can turn a profit," he said. Monica Escobedo, a spokesperson for Grayco, said that to her knowledge gift cards have not been given out for this reason.

Cyndee Johnson, a resident since January of this year, described the apartments as "literally Niagara Falls." She and other tenants have been collecting pictures and videos to prepare evidence for a possible lawsuit. She said they want recompense for inaccessible amenities, lack of security, and inconvenience due to construction, and that the owners should be held accountable for misrepresenting their product. "After seeing how the owners treated the tenants at Shoreline," she said, "it seems like there is a pattern of intimidation." (See "Fighting to Stay," April 15.)

Escobedo said that leak-related issues have only affected a "small percentage" of residents at South Shore. "Our residents and their quality of life within the South Shore District community are our top priorities," she wrote in an email to the Chronicle. But the aggravated tenants believe that what they are experiencing is part of a larger trend of a rental market driven by short-term gains, where housing is disposable and renters are exploited. Cisneros said that rapid growth at the behest of developers should be more seriously questioned by Austin's City Council. "It's the tail wagging the dog," she said.

Juliana Gonzales, executive director of Austin Tenants' Council, said that this case shows that the power imbalance between landlords and tenants is not just a low-income issue. "Tenants' rights are very hard to protect in this type of housing market, at every income level. Landlords have an incredible amount of leverage because vacancies are low and rent is high; as a result, tenants have very few options to assert their rights – it is easy for landlords to say, 'go ahead, just leave,' in this housing market."