DeKalb begins demolition of blighted Walden Pond condos after court order; county estimates $91,000 cost

DeKalb County officials on Aug. 12 began tearing down four condominium units at a long-troubled Walden Pond complex in unincorporated Decatur, saying the buildings were vacant, unsecured and posed health and safety risks to residents.

"Because the owners did not demolish the property, the county is exercising its right as petitioners to take the property down," said Allen Mitchell, director of community development. Mitchell told the Board of Commissioners that the county filed a complaint in August 2024 and that a final order was issued by Judge Holly Man Hymer on Dec. 20, 2024.

County code enforcement director Tonja Clark described years of inspections, sewer leaks and safety hazards at the site. "We've had lots of support from our apartment departments, the police department," Clark said, and recalled a period when police helped inspectors access steep ravine behind the buildings for safety and sanitary concerns.

Resident Leslie Johnson, who said she has lived at Walden Pond for 26 years, told commissioners demolition is bittersweet for longtime tenants who still live in units. "If you were to come in here and destroy these properties, you would be destroying my home," Johnson said. She said residents have formed a board of directors and are trying to make improvements on remaining buildings.

Mitchell identified Diversified Environmental Management as the contractor selected for the work and said the county's cost for demolition and fees is roughly $91,000. He thanked Diversified representatives Elaine, Jerome and Maurice for their participation and said Maurice would begin the mechanical process at the site that day.

The county's law office handled the court process, Mitchell said, naming Gabriel Daniel, Esquire, as the law department attorney who took the case to the judge. County staff emphasized the demolition followed a legal process after the property owner failed to bring the buildings into compliance.

Commissioners and county staff framed the work as part of a broader push to remove long-standing blight across unincorporated DeKalb. "DeKalb County is moving forward," CEO Lorraine Cochran Johnson said earlier in the program of remarks that introduced the demolition team. Commissioners Ladina Bolton and Marita Davis Johnson also spoke in support of removing unsafe units and said the work opens space for future reinvestment.

County staff said the demolition affects four units and that temporary easements or driveway access required for construction do not change property ownership. Officials said the action does not preclude further negotiations in other cases but that, for this property, the court order authorized the county to proceed.