Atlanta, Georgia – Five long-troubled properties across Atlanta’s Westside could soon move from neighborhood frustration to formal legal action. Mayor Andre Dickens’ administration is asking the Atlanta City Council for authority to begin condemnation proceedings, a step officials say could finally address sites that have remained distressed for years.
The request is not an immediate city takeover. Instead, it would open a closely regulated process involving appraisals, property-owner notification and, if necessary, proceedings in Georgia Superior Court.
The administration has requested a specially called council meeting in the coming weeks to consider resolutions involving properties at 533 English Avenue NW, 748 Neal Street NW, 293 Sunset Avenue NW, 699 Joseph E. Boone Boulevard NW and 2795 Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway NW.
The proposal is part of Atlanta’s continuing effort to confront persistent blight and return distressed properties to productive use while protecting surrounding neighborhoods.
“Blight is more than an abandoned building or neglected property. Blight affects quality of life, safety and economic opportunity of the families who live around it,” Mayor Dickens said.
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Dickens added that the administration intends to use appropriate tools to deal with properties that have remained distressed for too long, with the goal of protecting residents, strengthening neighborhood pride and extending the benefits of Atlanta’s growth to more communities.
The action also fits within the administration’s broader Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative, or NRI, which focuses on areas affected by longstanding disinvestment. Tackling blighted properties is one piece of that strategy, alongside efforts intended to create safer, healthier and more stable neighborhoods.
If council members approve the resolutions, the mayor or his designee could initiate condemnation proceedings under Georgia law, including O.C.G.A. § 22-1-1 et seq. Any city acquisition would be based on an independent appraisal establishing fair market value.
Should eminent domain become necessary, the city would have to take the case to Georgia Superior Court, where the proposed acquisition would be reviewed under state eminent domain requirements.
District 3 Councilmember Byron Amos said residents have waited for meaningful action on the properties.
“We have an obligation to use the tools available to us responsibly and strategically when persistent blight threatens the stability and future of a community,” Amos said.
City officials stressed that council authorization would only begin the process. It would not immediately transfer ownership of any property. Appraisal, notification and required judicial procedures would still have to occur before an acquisition could be completed.
The administration is seeking to hold the specially called meeting at the earliest appropriate date and time.
