MACON, Ga. — In 2019, the Crystal Lake Apartments in Macon were evacuated by the county because they were "unlivable." Now, they're back open - with new management.
If you drive down Crystal Lake Circle, you might recognize the same old apartment sign, but the complex has a new name - Lakeside Reserve.
"We had previously knew it was Crystal Lake, back in the day," resident Shemika McKenzie said.
She wanted to move her family somewhere bigger, but still close to a lake. They started calling Lakeside Reserve home in October. She said at first, they were reluctant because of bad stories they'd heard about the previous management.
"I would say it worried me just a tad, especially about the crime rate that was so bad over here before," she said. "Since I've been here over a month, it's been fine."
In our previous reports, we found dozens of code violations at those apartments between 2017 and 2019.
We tried to speak with the new property manager on Tuesday, but the office was closed. They have fliers up at the leasing office door that said they have one, two, three and four bedroom apartments available.
McKenzie said she heard from management that they would open up a swimming pool at the complex, and also open up the high-rise part of the complex, although she wasn't sure when.
Banners around the complex say they have new renovations, and this Facebook post made by the property manager said they're taking applications right now for December move-ins.
"We ain't had no problems, or nothing. We love, love the view of the lake right there in the backyard so, everything's good," McKenzie said.
She's happy the apartments opened back up, just in time for her family to find their new home. While we were at the apartment complex, we saw the complex had signs about 24/7 security.
According to the same Facebook post, the complex does accept the housing voucher and offers a preferred employer program.