Residents concerned about future after new round of demolition at South Fulton's Camelot Condominiums

The heavy sound of breaking timber and concrete echoed across the 75 acres of Camelot Condominiums off Old National Highway on Friday as city leaders led another round of demolition of two of its condemned structures.  

While city officials framed the work as a vital step toward eliminating blighted, unsafe conditions, many residents of the complex were deeply frustrated.

Hours before excavators were set to begin work, a handful of residents were still inside, desperately trying to pack up their remaining belongings. Some, facing immediate displacement with nowhere else to go, waited for local nonprofit organizations to arrive and assist with temporary shelter and moving support.

For property owners who poured their life savings into Camelot, the arrival of heavy machinery brings mounting anger over how local authorities handled the complex's long, troubled decline.

Josette Thomas Sylvan, who owns three units in the complex, said the financial toll extends beyond the loss of the property itself.

"As far as the demolition work is concerned, we have a lien on all of our properties to pay for the demolition," Thomas Sylvan said.

She pointed out that neglect and lawlessness took an immediate toll the night before the teardown. Burglars broke into one of her units overnight, stripping out the copper wiring and making off with every large appliance inside.

"The fact that the city has decided to use all their powers and resources to remove us and relocate us, but did not use the same powers when it came to all the financial crimes that occurred in Camelot," Thomas Sylvan said. "I wish some of these resources would've been used to catch the real criminals and not let the homeowners and the people that are trying to have a place to live is suffering."

Renters found themselves in similar distress. Aisha Stinson, who rented a unit slated for destruction, had received notice to vacate but had to wait hours for community aid groups to arrive so she could move her furniture and personal effects out of the demolition zone.

Community leaders argue that the crisis at Camelot reflects a systemic failure to support invested taxpayers.

Jill Lindsey, an advocate for the Old National community, stressed that both resident homeowners and independent investors are taking devastating financial losses.

"It's unfortunate because these are people's homes. People invested, investors, and bought land," Lindsey said. "This land has been purchased as condominiums, so it's just really sad for people that have put their part and money into investments and has not seen the profit out of it."

Lindsey urged municipal leaders to take a more collaborative approach as remediation moves forward across the complex.

"The city of South Fulton needs to work together with the homeowners and the property owners," Lindsey added. "These are citizens and taxpayers and voters out here, and they still deserve to be met in their time of need."

The ongoing demolition marks a stark contrast to Camelot's storied beginnings.

Constructed in the 1970s just minutes from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the complex was originally marketed as a premier gated enclave for upper-middle-class professionals. Pilots, flight attendants, and corporate workers flocked to the development, drawn by its manicured lawns, swimming pools, tennis courts, and neighborhood security.

Over the decades, however, that prestige gave way to severe neglect. The complex became mired in deep financial troubles, persistent leadership clashes within its homeowner association, code violations, squatter encampments, suspicious structure fires, and repeated outbreaks of violent crime.

City of South Fulton leaders maintain that the condemned buildings pose critical life-safety hazards and are structurally unfit for human habitation. While officials insist the demolitions are a non-negotiable step toward revitalizing the corridor along Old National Highway, the families and owners left in the wake of the bulldozers say true recovery remains a distant promise.

CBS News Atlanta was told the displaced residents cleared from the building ahead of the teardown secured temporary lodging, but for only a few days.