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Emergency town hall held over troubled condo complex
Six people have been shot killed this year alone at the Camelot Condos in South Fulton. Many city residents, including the mayor, want to tear it down. But at least one city council member says it isn’t that easy.
SOUTH FULTON, Ga. - Six people have been shot and killed this year alone at the Camelot Condos. Many South Fulton residents, including the mayor, want to tear it down. But at least one city council member says it isn’t that easy.
Council member Linda Becquer Pritchett, District 7, called held an emergency town hall meeting Monday night to address the concerns surrounding the dilapidated complex.
South Fulton resident Horace Copridge says Camelot Condos used to be desirable when it opened back in the 1990s. "When I first moved here, if you lived in Camelot, that was the place to live," Copridge said. "But now, it’s just the opposite."
Camelot is now anything but the fictional majestic castle of King Arthur’s Court for which it was named. Six people were killed at the complex along the Old National Highway corridor in South Fulton since January. Wendell Lowe was gunned down there earlier this month.
Vacant units, broken windows, and trash spilling out of the dumpster riddle the complex. The city blames gang activity for many of the problems.
"It’s very dangerous," Pritchett said. "I’ve actually seen burned cars on fire, pit bulls running around running wild, a lot of people carrying guns out in the open."
Mayor Khalid Kamau has called for the demolition of the complex. But he adds that residents "need to be made whole."
Pricthett says the city does not have that authority. "No, because the condos are private property," Pritchett said.
Pritchett called the emergency town hall at World Changers Church to clarify what the city can and cannot do. "Condemning a property is not within the city’s purview," Pritchett said.
She says the city is doing what it can to clean up crime at the condos, but she says the process takes time and the city must pursue the proper legal channels.
"We’ve been fining them. But we have to take a more aggressive approach," Pritchett said. "It has to be coordination because it is such a delicate matter."
Pritchett says Fulton County would have the authority to tear down the condos.
A source tells FOX 5 the city is looking into what’s possible at Camelot.