The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
DeKalb eyes comprehensive blight study for 2019
County wants to see long-term effects of its solution.
Dilapidated, derelict and now demolished.
Those are a few words describing once-abandoned DeKalb County properties. The eyesores, as some call them, can affect a neighborhood’s property values and in some instances increase crime.
DeKalb’s answer? They got rid of them.
But the county could soon examine the long-term effects of its solution through a proposed comprehensive study of blighted properties in 2019. Further details, like price, on the proposed study have not been released, but county officials said they are looking to select a vendor.
The study would “enable the county to develop a more comprehensive long-term strategy,” DeKalb community development director Allen Mitchell said in a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The study would focus its efforts on dilapidated condominium complexes, such as the notorious Brannon Hill Condominiums. Forty of the condos will be demolished early next year.
This year, the county has demolished or abated 140 properties to the tune of about $278,000, DeKalb officials told the AJC in an email earlier this week. The county’s final demolish this year was 521 Warren Ave., a cobblestone and brick home in unincorporated DeKalb.
Demolishing the derelict properties has been a part of CEO Mike Thurmond’s plan to fight blight since early 2017, when the Board of Commissioners allocated $3.8 million to fight dilapidated properties. The county demolished its highest number of proprieties in 2017 with 153.
And more are expected in 2019.
The county provided the AJC a list of 70 properties, mostly in Clarkston, set to be demolished or abated next year.
Dates for demolitions and abatements have not been scheduled.