Residents living near San Pedro Creek Culture Park being pushed out of homes, group says

Group claims higher rent to draw wealthy, professional tenants

SAN ANTONIO – People who live in the area near the San Pedro Creek Culture Park say the development is pushing low-income residents in the area out of their homes.

Tenants formed a Facebook page called Stand with Soapworks and Towne Center Tenants. They are blaming the city and county for gentrifying the area, saying their rent is going up to draw in wealthy, professional tenants.

Mother of three Maureen Galindo said she remembers when San Antonio had affordable housing.

“I moved back to SA from Portland, Oregon, after being priced out of there,” she said.

Now, it’s the same situation for her.

“This was my second time getting displaced. The first year I moved to Oregon, my rent went up $200,” Galindo said.

Galindo formed the Stand with Soapworks and Towne Center Tenants group to save her home.

“A lot of people have lived here for 30 years, and it felt like their community was taken away from them,” she said.

Galindo said an investment group from Houston, Barvin Group, recently bought the property and started intensive renovation, evicting people and raising rent significantly. KSAT's email and call for comment to Barvin Group were not answered.

“I would guess about 60 percent of them (tenants) work in downtown in the hotels, hospitals and restaurants. It’s like the workforce housing hub of downtown,” she said.

The city of San Antonio said it has done outreach to help people impacted by the project, including the approval of $542,000 for emergency rent assistance last month.

The San Pedro Creek Project will run 2 miles. Phase one is complete and only includes a half-mile of the project. The first part of the project cost the county and city $158 million.

The project is expected to have a $1.5 billion economic impact.

The city won’t say if the rent increases are a direct spillover from the creek’s upgrades. Policy changes to prevent these types of problems, however, are expected to be proposed this summer.

The city’s short-term rental assistance program is run by the Department of Human Services. It’s available to low-income tenants who qualify. Anyone interested in the program is asked to call 210-207-5910.


About the Author:

Patty Santos joined the KSAT 12 News team in July 2017. She has a proven track record of reporting on hard-hitting news that affects the community.