Nearly a year after a city crackdown ended commercial events at a sprawling mansion on Buckhead’s Garmon Road, the partying is back and again drawing citations, officials say.
Once home to music and film star Kenny Rogers, the mansion at 4499 Garmon Road was the source of neighborhood controversy in 2018 for a string of massive parties, some with guests arriving by helicopter or toting AR-15-style rifles for security. Unclear ownership was a major stumbling block for officials looking to crack down on the parties. At a July 2018 meeting, a woman named Tasia Holdorf claimed to be the mansion’s new owner and took responsibility for a noisy Fourth of July party for which the city later fined her $1,000.
For nearly a year, there were no parties of note, according to City Councilmember J.P. Matzigkeit’s office. But now the mansion is back in business, with at least two websites advertising it for event rentals under the name “Lionheart Mansion.” One site, Book Luxe Xotics, advertises it as “the perfect entertainer’s home” while saying it is only for rent as a filming location or “vacation stays.”
On June 30, the Atlanta Police Department issued a noise citation to a person renting the mansion, identified as Arielle Hill, according to APD spokesperson Officer TaSheena Brown. “We have responded to several noise complaints this past week, but in most of those incidents the noise did not travel beyond the required distance to issue a citation,” Brown added.
The city also recently issued a code violation relating to the commercial use, which is illegal in residential areas, according to Jim Elgar, an aide to Matzigkeit. However, unclear ownership remains a problem in figuring out who to cite, Elgar said.
“We’re working to stop parties,” Elgar said.
Brown said that APD is aware of the situation and patrolling the area. “We are very much aware of complaints at this location and monitor it carefully, given the number of complaints we receive from nearby residents,” Brown said. “Our evening and overnight supervisors are providing checks on the location multiple times every shift.”
Brown said there were recently 79 “calls for service” at the mansion, of which 56 were self-initiated police patrols or drop-ins; 13 were noise complaints, and the others were “miscellaneous.”
Parking was a previous concern at the mansion’s events last year. Brown said that as for now, it appears mansion guests are parking on the property or coming in by shuttle bus. “So, there are really not illegal parking issues for us to deal with,” Brown said.
Renting mansions for ticketed parties and concerts is a booming business, partly as mansion-owners may be cash-strapped and partly due to cities cracking down on nightclubs and sending nightlife underground. A large mansion party featuring major music stars that was held June 9 in Sandy Springs drew promises of policy changes from city officials.