4 days ago
Property owner says city started demolishing the wrong home, ‘put a hole on my property'
X marks the spot where the city of Atlanta's Department of City Planning was preparing to bulldoze a Southwest Atlanta home on Highview Road.
Property owner Renaldo Norman, who built the home from the ground up, said crews were successful in knocking down one wall.
'To behold, I saw demo, a bulldozer and a big hole on the side of the property,' he told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln.
He said city workers realized they'd made a mistake.
Norman and his brother co-own a family real estate investment company. They say workers thought their building permit had expired.
'May 22, the day after it expired, they came out and put a hole on my property,' he said.
But he said earlier that month, he filed a permit extension, putting the permit in compliance, meaning it's in good standing for an additional 6 months.
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'Just imagine pulling up to your property and you see a big hole in the wall, and no one can give me an explanation as to why,' Norman said.
The Normans say the city has not provided them with an explanation. He said when speaking with an employee, she suggested he call an attorney.
Lincoln emailed the Department of City Planning, but no one has responded.
Norman said they've already invested more than $200,000 into the build, and now they're considering starting back from scratch.
'This right here is a major setback. So, now we may have foundational issues,' Norman said.
The Normans say they were planning to finish construction in the next two months.
They say they are now considering taking legal action against the city.
