AUSTIN, Texas — Neighbors near a South Austin subdivision say they're concerned about the homes around them.
What looks like fairly new homes are actually abandoned and vandalized.
“What the heck happened there?” Wayne Reddell asked. “It’s half-built houses that are dilapidated and in a state of decay.”
Reddell said he just bought a home across the street from the Southstone subdivision on West Dittmar Road. He said the buildings look like they’re stuck in limbo.
“There's a lot of graffiti and broken windows and foundations with no houses. So, yeah, it's obvious that somebody started and never finished,” he said.
Reddell said the property's front gate is wide open, and he has seen people walking in and around the structures before.
“It's definitely an eyesore, you know? I mean, it's interesting to me, but it's not pretty. I can see there being some kind of safety hazards here,” he said.
Michael Owens, who has lived in the next neighborhood for over 25 years, said he remembers when Cumby Construction, the developers, started building the subdivision around five years ago. He said he's worried about those who could take advantage of the empty structures now.
“With Austin's homeless problem, that's probably become a place for a lot of homeless people,” Owens said. “Plus, the grounds have not been kept up. You see a lot of weeds – no telling how much trash is in those weeds. It could be a breeding ground for vermin and other nasty stuff.”
He said something needs to be done.
“Yeah, I'd like it to go away and be cleaned up,” Owens said.
KVUE reached out to Austin's Development Services Department's Code Compliance team. It said there have been four complaints reported about the property and told us in a statement that inspectors visited the property in April and found incomplete structures and unsanitary conditions.
We also reached out to Cumby Construction, the developer of the project. It said there are plans in the works for the property that it's not able to disclose at this time.