Forest Cove Apartment demolition: Atlanta mayor takes action against problematic property

ATLANTA - A long problematic apartment complex on Atlanta's southeast side is about to be history.

Crews began demolishing the old Forest Cove apartments in the Thomasville Heights neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon.

For more than a decade, Kecia McNease has run the 1st Appearance Barber and Beauty Salon on McDonough Boulevard right across from the infamous Forest Cove apartments. For years she had to look out her door and see it, but Wednesday was the beginning of a new chapter as demolition got underway.

"A long time coming, it was an eyesore," she said. "Them having to live the way that they lived, so I know they are ecstatic to be gone from there."

Troubled Atlanta apartments demolished

Over the years, residents told FOX 5 the apartment complex was in poor condition and was a hotbed for crime and violence. All of those issues led to demolition.

"This is the end of multiple decades of dilapidation," said Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens.

Mayor Dickens and members of the city council have helped lead the charge to first get the residents relocated then get this place cleaned up. On Wednesday, Mayor Dickens blasted Millennia Housing Management, which ran the complex for several years.

"We are putting on notice any landlord, any bad operator in the City of Atlanta that we mean business," Mayor Dickens said.

Demolition should take about five months. Eventually, the piles of rubble will turn into something new. Mayor Dickens hopes to have a contract with a developer this year.

"We have plans of a whole community, including fresh food, services as well as a park and for, of course, households," he said.

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Forest Cove apartment owner responds

Millennia Housing Management owned the complex through a separate organization called Phoenix Ridge. Phoenix Ridge released a statement blasting the city: 

"Today the City is not only celebrating the demolition of Forest Cove but also the success of its plan to steal Forest Cove from its former residents and Phoenix Ridge, in order to hand it over to a developer of their choosing for their vision, which notably excludes the subsidized housing crucial to those residents. The decades of deterioration impacting Forest Cove came under the watch of the City of Atlanta and Forest Cove's previous owner. Phoenix Ridge purchased the property in 2021 with the expressed goal of relocating residents to complete a $58M renovation. Had the City not blocked Phoenix Ridge from doing so, all rightful Forest Cove residents would be living in transformed, subsidized homes today. The City's demolition of this community is not a result of management by Phoenix Ridge, but the City's actions to block the planned rehabilitation in breach of its obligations under the Consent Agreement so that it could build a park and unsubsidized housing with a developer hand-picked by the Mayor. Despite what Mayor Dickens may claim, today is a sad day for Atlanta and the Forest Cove residents who will never return to their community and continue to languish in temporary housing across the Metro area."

HUD takes action against Millennia Housing Management

The U.S. Housing and Urban Development is taking action against Millennia. Ethan Handelman, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multifamily Housing Programs sent FOX 5 this statement: 

"At the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), we are committed to ensuring that people living in HUD-assisted housing have safe, decent homes and that our property owners manage assets responsibly and in accordance with our rules. That includes both financial management and property conditions. HUD has issued an official debarment order to Millennia CEO Frank T. Sinito and Millennia Housing Management Ltd. (Millennia), immediately prohibiting them from participating in any new business with HUD, its Office of Multifamily Housing Programs, including the Section 8 program, and with any federal government agency or federal programs for five years, ending on December 13, 2028. The debarment action is now final agency action. It does not affect Millenia’s existing properties or contracts with HUD. HUD is pursuing separate enforcement actions and will take further action as appropriate and necessary. HUD reiterated in its final debarment order that the agency expects Millennia Housing Management to continue performing any necessary repairs or maintenance at properties currently owned by Millenia. This action does not affect tenants and residents living in properties currently owned by Millennia Housing Management. HUD will continue to monitor the Millennia properties and address instances of noncompliance. Residents are encouraged to contact their state’s Performance-Based Contract Administrator (PBCA) with any questions or concerns that they believe are not being adequately addressed by management. If the PBCA cannot address their concerns, they should contact the assigned HUD Account Executive or HUD’s Multifamily Housing Complaint Line (1-800-685-8470) for further assistance in English or Spanish."