One of the most popular COVID-19 testing sites in the Valley during the height of the pandemic is now operating as an outdoor storage facility.
The Embry Health parking lot in Tempe, near Price Road and Southern Avenue, is now piled high with surplus medical supplies, high-dollar items, and excess materials.
Neighbors in the area contacted ABC15 and the City of Tempe about the 'eyesore' and 'junkyard.'
"This is light industrial or retail, not junkyard," said neighbor Burke Files, referring to the zoning. "And they just kept adding and adding and adding. Last week it seemed to grow disproportionately."
All the stuff recently piled high on the business property is what is left over from Embry's liquidation sale at their West Valley warehouse.
Embry Health’s CEO says the Tempe lot (located at 3350 S. Price Rd, Tempe, AZ 85282) will be open to the public for sales between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. this week.
The company said its lease recently expired on the Tolleson warehouse, so it moved the excess materials to its owned property. Residents nearby are less than pleased with the "musical chairs" scenario — because there are hundreds of chairs stacked in the lot.
"It’s a lot of stuff, and we know there’s some stuff that’s not necessarily sellable. So we are trying to filter that out, get rid of that stuff, and see what we need to sell," said Collin Hernandez, an employee with Embry Health in charge of organizing and offloading the tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff.
Embry Health was left with a massive inventory after its business model was decimated overnight by at-home tests.
The company was incredibly successful and instrumental throughout the pandemic, testing countless Arizonans at drive-up sites across the state.
Now, the company is trying to salvage what they can from the excess purchases, by selling things off piecemeal.
Burke Files, who lives feet away from the growing parking lot, believes they have the wrong approach.
"There were a lot of solutions before it got to this. There are plenty of liquidators that you could call and say, 'Make me an offer on all the stuff in this building.' And they will buy it and take it off your hands," said Files. "This is an unwise move as a neighbor. It’s an unwise move as a business."
Embry Health's Collin Hernandez said the company is trying to address the situation as quickly as possible.
"There’s definitely the pressure and stress of getting things more organized here because we’ve had the neighbors come, we had the fire department come, and we’ve had the news come. So we understand there’s immense pressure to get things cleaned up and organized," said Hernandez, who said he understands neighbors are frustrated with the temporary excess of stuff.
The City of Tempe told ABC15, "Embry was cited yesterday by our Code Compliance team. There were neighborhood complaints. There was one citation for excess storage, landscaping issues, and an issue with a sign. They have 14 days to react. After that, there is a potential $510 fine. If the situation continues, they can be fined again $1,260, and with a third violation $2,460. If compliance can’t be achieved after three civil citations then we can speak with our attorney’s office to see if a criminal citation is the next step or further civil citations."
Embry Health CEO, Raymond Embry texted the following statement:
"Everything that is out the S. Price Rd. location is a result of winding down pandemic operations.
Embry Health served over 2.5 million Arizona’s during the pandemic. This was not done easily and required a massive amount of infrastructure and supplies to be acquired.
Over the past two months, Embry has closed down over 50,000 ft.² of office and logistics workspace that was used to serve patients during the pandemic.
From April 1 until May 31 a daily surplus sale was held at the Tolleson warehouse liquidating items at a significant discount to the community to close down the warehouse.
The S. Price Rd. location and the items in the parking lot are the final stage in this process.
We are moving very quickly to sell or donate these final items.
We are extremely grateful for the patience of the surrounding neighbors during this final stage.
It is anticipated to be concluded by the end of the week with full normality and aesthetically pleasing parking lot returning. Embry has been grateful and honored to serve Arizona during the pandemic and is extremely proud of the accomplishments of everyone involved.
The items at the S. Price Rd. location represents the final chapter in the battle against Covid in Arizona. As well as a reminder that responding to a pandemic takes so much more than most will ever know. Thank you!"
