ATLANTA — After nearly eight months of waiting, renters and owners at Seven88 West Midtown could get an update on their failing balconies in a matter of days.
Lanier Coulter is the attorney representing the condominium complex. He told Channel 2’s Courtney Francisco that property management is meeting with the general contractor who built the building.
The two parties are set to have a conversation about a proposed fix to address the balconies, according to Coulter.
“We can’t go into too many details, but that’s where we are present, and we’re hoping to have an update for the residents in the next seven to 10 days,” said Coulter.
Francisco reached back out to Coulter to find out the name of the general contractor in this case, but he did not respond.
Construction finished at the complex five years ago, according to the City of Atlanta’s records.
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On Jan. 24, 2025, residents received an email from property management that said a piece of a balcony on the 13th floor of the building had detached.
Channel 2 Action News uncovered the inspection report that came after that failure.
According to the document, out of 279 units at the complex, 221 balconies exhibited problems such as: surface cracking, cracks on corners and under guard attachments, concrete breaking off, deep holes and cracks on the underside, grout deteriorating and exposed rebar.
The inspection report said some balconies are safe to walk on, even with damage. However, the engineer warned that there should be no jumping, heavy objects or leaning on railings. He also wrote that 42 balconies are so concerning, no one or nothing should be on them, and people in the first-floor units should not stand under them.
“We would highly recommend restricting usage to only opening the doors,” said the inspector.
Additionally, the inspector said all lower-level units on the first floor should refrain from using their exterior spaces due to the potential hazard of falling debris.
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In an effort to find out what went wrong, Channel 2 Action News requested Atlanta’s balcony inspection reports for the property.
According to the Department of City Planning, Atlanta is not in charge of that and does not maintain those records.
A spokesperson said contractors hire private companies to inspect their balconies.
The third-party inspectors connected to this address are listed as Atlas Technical Consultants and Piedmont Geotechnical Consultants.
Neither company has returned calls or e-mails requesting any balcony information.
Atlanta City Council members and Georgia state lawmakers are joining Channel 2 Action News in the effort to research what state laws are in place concerning balcony inspections, how often they should be performed to meet code requirements, who is responsible for performing them and how those rules can vary city-to-city.
Expect an update on that research to come next.
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