Denise Kalentzis can see the 32-story building where she lives from the window of her hotel room at the Marriott in Midtown.
And she can see the thing that has kept her from barely setting foot in that building for the past five days: the massive, metallic form of a crane reaching skyward, which prompted evacuations Friday all along West Peachtree Street when construction crews saw that it was at risk of toppling over.
“I keep looking at it,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “but I don’t see it moving yet.”
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
The Atlantic House apartments, along with several nearby businesses, have been closed since Friday morning, when crews working at the high-rise at 1105 West Peachtree first became concerned about the teetering crane. Hundreds of apartment and condominium residents have been unable to return to their homes, instead taking shelter in hotels paid for by construction company Brasfield & Gorrie while crews work to dismantle the colossal piece of equipment.
A mechanical failure caused the crane to tilt as crews were attempting to lower it. After determining it was in danger of falling onto buildings below, Atlanta firefighters went door to door clearing out homeowners.
Jack Carvalho was busy working at his desk inside of his apartment Friday morning, the window in front of him overlooking West Peachtree.
What he saw unsettled him.
Looking up, he saw that the crane that had been erected in front of the 31-story office tower across from his apartment was beginning to lean. Below, he saw a sea of neon-vested workers staring upward.
“I was texting my buddies and all of us were like, ‘This doesn’t look right,’” he said.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Within minutes, Carvalho heard sirens throughout his building, he told the AJC. He packed a bag with several changes of clothes, unsure of when he would be returning to his home.
“Nobody really knew what was going on,” he said. “Firefighters were saying it could take a few hours to fix, and that turned out to be a total crapshoot. But there were a lot of people who didn’t know what was going on, and that’s nobody’s fault.”
Carvalho said he and a few friends went to stay at a property his father owns in Atlanta until their apartment complex offered to put them up in a hotel.
Kalentzis previously told the AJC she grabbed a $7 bottle of Sauvignon blanc and her 14-year-old Maltese mix, Kiki, before she and her husband walked out of their apartment at the Atlantic House.
“We just grabbed our essentials and the dog and left,” she said.
At this point we’ve purchased or have mobile recording equipment so we can do our daily show from the hotel- it doesn’t sound too terrible but obviously not ideal. You can help by just sharing our podcast at https://t.co/lWEMAw5Qpx as we continue to #liveagreatstory ❤️
— DENISE (@denisekonair) February 24, 2021
Kalentzis, who along with her husband, PK, hosts the podcast “PK and DK,” settled into a work routine from a hotel room.
“PK grabbed the microphones and we went to Costco and got a new laptop, and we’ve been doing the show from the hotel room,” she said. “On Monday, we recorded on the bed. On Tuesday, we did the show from the couch.”
On Monday evening, residents of the Atlantic House were allowed a two-hour window to retrieve some of their belongings from their homes.
“We had between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., and when we got there the staff was there cheering for everyone, and saying ‘Welcome back,’” Kalentzis said.
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC
Predictions for when residents will be able to permanently return to their homes have varied. Atlantic House told residents that construction officials believe they might be able to return to their apartments Friday.
“Different variables such as weather and wind conditions can affect the timeline, but (the construction management team) have assured us that they are working as fast as they can to get us back to Atlantic House as soon as it is possible,” the property told residents in a message.
Brasfield & Gorrie on Wednesday said it had finished reinforcing the malfunctioned crane, “marking an important step toward safely resolving the situation.”
“The meticulous steps to reinforce the crane and install new structural members are part of the plan to safely dismantle the crane this week,” the company said in a statement. “We are mindful that many people are impacted by this situation; we are working as hard and as fast as safely possible with the goal of dismantling the crane safely.”
