By Maria Saporta and David Pendered
The red brick building on Auburn Avenue that once housed the Atlanta Daily World newspaper is getting a reprieve from the wrecking ball.
A developer’s proposal to tear down all but the front portion of the building was rejected unanimously by a powerful Economic Review Panel that reports to the Atlanta Urban Design Commission.
The commission later voted unanimously to accept the panel’s report and deny the demolition permit.
Interestingly enough, no representative from the developer — the Integral Group — was on hand to make a case to demolish the historic building on Auburn Avenue.
Instead, all the speakers spoke against demolition of the building. Fulton County Commissioner Joan Garner, preservation leaders and numerous residents of the Old Fourth Ward and Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District passionately spoke of the importance of the building to Atlanta’s history.
Going forward, the Integral Group could challenge the ruling of the Economic Review Panel and the Urban Design Commission by filing an appeal with the Fulton County Superior Court.
Integral has developed the block adjacent to, and East, of the old Daily World building. For that project, Integral received permission to demolish some old buildings but did retain the front of the 4-B-9 building. The new development is a mix of apartments and commercial spaces.
Tax records show the Daily World building was built in 1930 and contains 4,756 square feet of space on 0.11 acres of land. The building is listed as Class C office space.
The county valued the property at a total of $466,400. Of that, the land was valued at $322,500 and the building at $143,900. The values have not changed since 2009, the oldest record available on line.
