Restauranteur suing Piedmont Park management over sinkhole, lease

WSBTV.com News Staff
·2 min read
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A business owner claims that a sinkhole in Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta was never fixed properly and put people who use the park at risk.

The 10-foot-wide hole opened up in 2018 near the 12th Street gate.

The developers who planned to open a restaurant inside the community center say they are suing park management after they gave the lease to other businesses.

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“We are at our wit’s end,” restauranteur David Dooley said. “Their defense... is that the building hasn’t fallen in yet, so therefore what they did might work.”

The Piedmont Park Conservancy issued the following statement:

“Piedmont Park Conservancy is committed to providing a safe experience for visitors to Piedmont Park, while ensuring a clean, green and accessible park for all. Any claims of unresolved structural concerns to the Piedmont Park Community Center building are simply unfounded and untrue.

The timing of the recent press conference by a lawyer representing a former tenant in a lawsuit against the Conservancy is clearly opportunistic in its effort to resurface concerns around a routine repair that took place nearly five years ago. Since the repair was successfully completed, not only has a prominent structural engineer deemed the repair proper and the structure sound, but two national restaurant brands with full knowledge of the situation have successfully and safely operated within the building. We look forward to sharing all information in upcoming litigation and are confident that Piedmont Park Conservancy will prevail in this landlord-tenant dispute.

Piedmont Park Conservancy would like to assure all Music Midtown attendees that these claims and concerns are inaccurate, and we look forward to hosting the iconic music festival again this weekend.”

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