‘Profit over people’: City files class-action lawsuit against apartment management company

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Atlanta city leaders have announced a lawsuit against the property management company of a southeast Atlanta federally subsidized housing complex on behalf of its residents.

The Forest Cove Apartments in Thomasville has been an eyesore for the city for more than a decade. Residents of the dilapidated complex have reported mold, rat infestation, broken windows, crumbling ceilings and violent crime dating back to 2008.

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On Friday, Mayor Andre Dickens, along with Councilmember Jason Winston and Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump, announced a lawsuit against Forest Cove Apartments property owner, The Millenia Companies, claiming the corporation put profit over people.

“I am not content to sit on the sidelines and allow residents to live in inadequate conditions,” Dickens said.

“You cannot profit over the suffering of Atlantans, and if you do, we will seek recourse,” Winston added.

In December 2021, a municipal judge condemned the property, demanding all tenants be removed by March 2022. The Millenia Companies filed an appeal that currently sits in the superior court.

The city says the deadline for relocation, a roughly $9 million federal effort, was not met. The city began rehousing residents in June 2022, but only 63 of the more than 200 households were reportedly relocated by Aug. 1.

In May, federal officials confirmed that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) would no longer provide federal funding for the complex, instead electing to direct that money toward resident relocation efforts.

During Friday’s news conference, Mayor Dickens credited HUD and its decision to abate the contract made with Millenia, resulting in the relocation of more than 800 Forest Cove Apartments residents.

WATCH THE FULL PRESS CONFERENCE BELOW:

In a response statement, Millenia called the press conference a “blatantly self-serving fabrication.” It said Phoenix Ridge, a subsidiary company, acquired the property in 2021 and was trying to relocate residents while the complex underwent a $58 million rehabilitation.

ANF+: Millenia responds to lawsuit by former Forest Cove Apartment residents

The statement also argued Millennia does not owe the city nearly $10 million as claimed, saying the city broke that agreement when it blocked the property’s sale or refinancing in court.

“The City is right that the residents of Forest Cove deserve better, but halting the revitalization which would have seen the residents returned to newly renovated homes by now, in interest of redevelopment that does not provide adequate affordable housing but does increase the property value of Thomasville Heights, shows that Mayor Dickens and the City are only acting in their interest, not those of the residents of Forest Cove,” the statement said.