Residents near site of Midtown crane failure return home

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - More than a week after a crane failure at a neighboring construction site, residents of a Midtown high-rise building got the all-clear Tuesday afternoon to return to their apartments.

The crane malfunctioned Monday, May 22 in the 1000 block of West Peachtree Street. Two floors of the 26-story condominium complex under construction were significantly damaged after a component of the crane fell onto the top portion of the building.

Residents of Tens on West, a building that stands adjacent to the affected building, were immediately evacuated out of concern for their safety, officials said. That forced them to live in hotels or with friends for several days.

“There’s been a lot of constant communication from our management and the construction company about how they will resolve the problem, and that’s eased some of the frustration,” said Albert Kambaba, a Tens on West resident who moved to the area from South Africa in February. “They covered our hotel stay, and for me, that was a relief not having any family or friends around to go to because paying rent plus the hotel fee would have been a nightmare.”

RELATED: Here’s what we know about the Midtown Atlanta crane failure

“I’m just so happy to be back home,” said resident Mahogany Stapleton. “We haven’t been home in like a week and a half now, so I’m just excited to be back in my own space.”

Following the collapse, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) initiated inspections with Balfour Beatty Construction, LLC and Maxim LP.

Earlier Tuesday, Balfour Beatty shared the following update:

Hours later, the mandatory evacuation order at Tens on West was lifted and residents began returning home.

“Food was the hardest part,” said one resident. “My office is nearby, but I don’t like to order food. I like to eat at home. But they also told us today that we were getting credit back towards our rent, which is needed!”

Tuesday afternoon, Tens on West reportedly sent the following letter to residents.

West Peachtree and Spring Streets between 10th and 12th Streets reopened Tuesday evening.

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