A group of East Point buildings that have been vacant for years are causing new concerns for neighbors.
What was once the Washington Carver Homes property is now aging and decrepit. There's a new fence around the complex, but vagrants are still breaking in, neighbors told Channel 2's Carl Willis.
The biggest problem? The property is right next to Kipp South Fulton Academy.
Neighbors are worried about the safety of children who have to walk past the complex to get to school.
"Homeless people in and out, in and out, doing drugs, having intercourse," neighbor Guadelupe Franquez said. "And I get concerned because my nephews go to Kipp."
Franquez told Willis that vagrants have been squatting in the abandoned property, even putting up curtains.
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"They have all their stuff in there," Franquez said. "They live there, they sleep there, they eat there. "
New fencing has been erected around the property in the last few months, but neighbors say people simply cut through it. Not even a reinforcement gate and barbed wire are keeping people out.
Willis contacted an official at the City of East Point, who said the East Point Housing Authority sold the property around 2010 to an investor in Belgium.
Last year, they fined the owner and got her to put up the new fence. But she's since sold the property to yet another foreign investor, who authorities can't reach.
Police told Willis they will increase patrols, but their hands are tied when it comes to securing the property.
"I really think we should do something about it, but I don't know what to do," Franquez said.
Cox Media Group
