FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — What was once one of the most “crime-ridden” spots in all of Fulton County is now being reduced to rubble.
On Friday, the county began the demolition of an abandoned hotel along Fulton Industrial Boulevard and Interstate 20.
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A long-abandoned hotel in South Fulton County has long given County Chairman Robb Pitts fits.
“This was a haven for any kind of crime you could imagine, in particular, drug use and prostitution,” Pitts said.
“Are we ready to demolish a building? I definitely am,” Select Fulton’s Samir Abdullah announced at the Friday morning demolition.
The Knights Inn is out.
The latest example of urban blight to be erased from a stretch of Fulton Industrial Boulevard at I-20.
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A Red Roof Inn down the street is already gone, and a local gas station and vacant McDonald’s are next. Several nearby sites are in line for renewal.
The county spent $10 million to buy several parcels of land and remove what was on them. It’s all part of the county’s $180 million Renew The District initiative, which aims to redevelop every bit of it.
At the Knights Inn, Pitts, with hammer in hand, would have knocked it down himself, clearing out the site, clearing out the crime, and he says, clearing the way for a brighter tomorrow.
“Just use your imagination...right off the expressway, 17 prime acres. What does the future hold in five or six years compared to what it used to be?” Pitts said.
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