The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Trial begins Oct. 11 on Spaghetti Junction tower code violations
Disagreement over cleanup leads to trial set for Oct. 11.
The building formerly known as the Presidential Boutique Condotel lies vacant and in disrepair. Hefty fines loom for the owners of the rundown iconic Spaghetti Junction tower after they declined to resolve a series of code violations this week. A trial is set for Oct. 11 on the 34 code violations charged to the owners of the 15-story former hotel and condo building. The owners face as much as $34,000 in fines if found guilty of the violations at the structure, which has been vacant several years.
Contention between the co-owners of the Spaghetti Junction tower could prove costly after they failed to resolve dozens of code violations this week on the once iconic but now rundown building.
Vincent Lu and Habib Osta couldn’t agree on who was responsible for the infractions Tuesday during negotiations with DeKalb County on cleanup of the former Presidential Hotel. A judge scheduled an Oct. 11 trial in the case.
The owners face 34 violations and up to $34,000 in fines on the property, which has been vacant several years and has fallen into disrepair with busted windows, graffiti and trash strewn throughout the parking lot.
Clashes with the owners are nothing new.
Disagreement between them led to an unpaid Georgia Power bill in 2012, when the tower was known as The Presidential Boutique Condotel. Residents were later driven from their homes. Some people still own condos there, but they can’t use them.
The tower’s current state is much different from the once-thriving structure, which opened in 1973 on Presidential Parkway.
The tower has housed a number of hotel operations, and on the ground floor, Club Europe pumped out dance hits for partygoers through the 2000s.
Conditions quickly deteriorated when the building was shuttered. Vandals knocked out windows and ransacked the interior.
County Commissioner Nancy Jester, who represents the area, has called the tower a danger and an eyesore at the “front door” of DeKalb County at I-285 and I-85.
What’s unclear is which of the owners is responsible. Each is said to own separate parts of the building.
The finger-pointing kicked up before the hearing even began Tuesday.
When approached by a reporter in the hall, Lu pointed to Osta.
“He’s been in charge,” Lu said.
Osta, who was standing in the courtroom doorway, turned and walked away.
Approached a few minutes later, Osta motioned toward Lu.
“Talk to the major owner,” Osta said. “Vincent Lu, he’s the major owner.”
DeKalb officials have warned that the county would seek the maximum fine against the pair.
“There’s obviously differences of opinion, which is why we’re going to try the case,” Judge Hollie Manheimer said this week.