Forest Cove, the derelict and now vacant Section 8 apartment complex blighting the southside’s Thomasville Heights neighborhood, is finally on the chopping block.
After years of legal battles with the property owner—Ohio-based mega-landlord Millennia Housing Management—the city of Atlanta is preparing to raze the long-neglected eyesore and security hazard to make way for new apartments, shops, and restaurants.
In late December, two years after a municipal judge condemned the complex and ordered it demolished, Mayor Andre Dickens told Atlanta Civic Circle enough was enough.
“Either [Millennia] will tear this property down, or I will,” he said in a Dec. 19 statement.
Courtney English, Dickens’ top policy advisor, told Atlanta Civic Circle on Wednesday that the wrecking ball will hit Forest Cove some time before April—but he noted that the city must first follow its standard property-demolition protocol, a legal process verifying the need to raze buildings.
First, the city will have to place a lien against the property. It also has to identify funding for the demolition, a 22-acre undertaking that English said is expected to cost some $2 million.
Atlanta Municipal Judge Christopher Portis ruled Dec. 1 that Millennia, which owns Forest Cove under the name Phoenix Ridge, violated the city’s housing code by failing to secure the property—fully two years after he condemned it and ordered it razed, calling the complex a public nuisance and crime magnet.
The two-year delay in razing the property is because Millennia appealed the judge’s condemnation order in early 2022. After much legal wrangling, Millennia finally withdrew its appeal last fall. A subsequent grace period ended Dec. 19, clearing the way for the city to finally tear down Forest Cove.
Who will pay?
In the meantime, an adjacent legal feud between the city and Millennia will continue to escalate.
Millennia sued Atlanta in federal court in October,…
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