Urban Blight in Southwest Atlanta

Note: This article is dedicated to my stepfather, the late Professor Lionel Lorenzo Crump, Sr., who helped establish the Department of Community Planning and Urban Studies at Alabama A&M University in Normal, Ala.



(Properties across from daycare center on Bolton Rd. in Atlanta, Ga. Pictures taken Jan. 28 & Feb. 11, 2011)

Just blocks away from historic Martin Luther King Drive and across from a daycare center, you will find dilapidated housing on Fairburn and Bolton roads. These are examples of Southwest Atlanta experiencing urban decay from a failed economy or the City of Atlanta not being able to convince private owners to clean up or demolish abandoned properties in residential areas.

 

Dumping at 914, 940, and 950 Bolton

“If you are a parent, you wouldn’t want to put your child in school across from that,” said Lavette Reeves, director of Herrington Day School located at 974 Bolton Rd. 

“It makes the whole community look bad. After 6 p.m., squatters from there could come over here and break in and steal from us. Do you think rats are over there? If we could get it cleaned up, it would be really nice,” Reeves said.

In a ruinous state

After so many years of neglect, one wonders why the City of Atlanta has not exercised its right of eminent domain to condemn, demolish, or restore these properties. Several years ago, developers were allowed to "write down" or buy such properties for $1 and then take out low interest loans to renovate them.This may have been the case at Waverly Crest and Maple Creek Apartments on Bolton Rd.

 

One group of Garden Class D apartments at 914 and 950 Bolton Road were known as Waverly Crest. Property ownership records on the Fulton County Tax Assessor’s website document the owners as Waverly Crest Homeowners Association Inc., Alfred Trappanese, Home Dream Ventures LLC, Thomas Chapman, and Denise Kummer. 

In most instances, banks offloaded properties to owners for $1 - $10 each, and the owners left the vacant, burned, semi-boarded shells for as long as three years. According to tax assessor documents, some of the banks involved in these transactions were Wells Fargo Bank, HSBC Bank, and Bank of America.

One person walking past the apartments was Sam who lives on Bolton Rd. “It’s been looking like this for a couple of years. They were working on it, but then they just stopped,” Sam said.

His recommendation: “It needs to be cleaned up, make it look decent. Either knock it down or rebuild.” Sam said he does house improvements himself and would gratefully take a job as a contractor renovating the apartments where his sister used to reside. 

Another nearby home owner, who said he lived in the community for 15 years, declined to give his name. “Wait a minute now,” he said. “I don’t know much about it. All I know is that the people moved out. They need to be fixed up or demolished, one,” he said. 

Torched blight

After contacting the City of Atlanta about these properties, we received permission to go with an inspector to take additional photos. "We 've got it covered," said a code enforcement officer, City of Atlanta, Department of Planning and Community Development, who wished not to be identified. He said the case is working its way through the court system.

One apartment building on Bolton Rd.

A search of the Atlanta Housing Authority Docket for Jan 11, 2011 found that 914 and 950 Bolton Rd were cited for code violations, including unsecured vacant buildings and expose occupant to illness or physical injury. 

The buildings have open doorways and access through unbarred windows. Several former apartment units have been burned, and mold can be seen on ceilings.  Wingcom Watchdog would like to know whether an insurance claim was filed or damages collected on these properties. 

Maybe Fire Department records could be checked to see when the properties were torched. There is evidence of people living in the burned out shells, with shoes and clothing located in front of one entrance.

History or decay?

A two story house on SW Fairburn did not have a visible address but was directly across the street from a vacant lot which was marked 650 Fairburn.

On a visit with the code enforcement officer, he would not go inside to inspect the building because he considered it too dangerous. He said in his professional opinion, it needed to be demolished.

Passersby walk in front of the structure in the weeds on a muddied path. There could be a security risk here. The street is busy with cars during the day, but the ominous atmosphere must be scary at night.

Could this be the house listed on the National Historic Registry as the Judge William Wilson House? If so, it was added 1980 as Building #80001078, and the address is 501 Fairburn Rd., SW, Atlanta. The Wilson House sits on 150 acres and was built between 1850 and 1874.



Fairburn Rd. property

Wingcom Watchdog contacted the Registry and five additional historical institutions to find out more information on this property. We are waiting on their research findings into the dwelling's ownership.

Neither restoration or conservation can help this building. Rumor has it that this residence was built by slaves and may be owned privately or by the City of Atlanta.

Daniel Johnson, a recent KSU art graduate said, "I don't think the slaves would mind if that place was torn down."



Tomi Johnson and inspector
(Taken by Daniel G. Johnson)

Court documents for Bolton Rd properties: (http://courtview.atlantaga.gov/courtcalendars/O110111.pdf)

©2011 Tomi Johnson. All rights reserved.