Abandoned Apartment Building | Squat the Planet

Abandoned Apartment Building

RebeccaSoup

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No place to sleep last night and it was raining... We just got a car so we kind of drove around aimlessly in the city we're both from. Pretty depressing, driving around NO place to go. NO (decent)friends, no family, in the town you were born in... But thats another (sob)story.

Racking my brain for an easy spot to crash, I came up with an abandoned apartment complex near the house I grew up in. It's in a pretty posh area of town. It was vacated in 2007 and I think, slated for demo to put in fancy condos... And yeah yeah yeah economy, etc.. Blah blah. So its just sitting there behind this barbed wire fence.

After a little recon we got in the fence pretty easily... And a little more put us up through a second story window. (The building is four stories)

ELECTRICITY IS ON AND.... (wait for it)
THIS BUILDING HAS NEVER BEEN SQUATTED.

No sign of homebums, very little bullshit vandalism. The third and fourth floors were seemingly unexplored. Every apartment door has been pried open, and theyre all full of trash and abandoned furniture.

We picked a room with a bed and crashed out for the night and woke up this morning to pick our new apartment... Went through and found some rad funriture and started moving in.. Now Im out to pick up some locks/cutters etc.

I have to mention that in the exploration of this place, I came across a railfans stockpile of FRAMED NS/UP/SP photos and maps. This place just couldnt get better... I mean. Maybe running water? No. Fuck that, its a squat.

Checked it out online, and found an article from over a year ago describing the plans for the lot.

A limited partnership led by XXXXXXX XXXXX, part of XXXXX Properties, bought the former XXXXXXXX XXXXX apartments in May for $4.25 million. The company recently filed plans to tear down the 104-unit apartments and rip out the surface parking.

Checked the rezoning hearing and everything went as planned they just never started demo. So if theres about... (lets see)... 140 or so folks who'd like to come have thier own apartments.. Electricity heat and ac.. (at least for now).. Just give me a shout and we'll talk it over. In the meantime, I'm going to give my shitty City a pat on the back for being so damn easy.. And head to the Trader Joes dumpster so I can stock up the refridgerator in my 4 million dollar squat. :scared:

Pictures soon.

-Becca
 

Matt Derrick

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nice, but how long will it last? what state/area of the country is this in? im just curious.
 

RebeccaSoup

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Southern Piedmont of North Carolina. Think large, shitty cities. got one in mind? That one.


I think it could last at least as long as the building stays in possession of the current owner... 6 months to a year at least. My only worry is that the wrong folks will find out about it and blow it up.

Replaced a lock last night.. Got my own private entrance.
 

Angela

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That sounds like quite a find! I wish you good luck in keeping it from the clutches of the homebums and others that might blow it up. I've never really liked that city but something like that could make someone like it a lot better.
 

RebeccaSoup

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The city sucks. I've lived here off and on my whole life. I have ZERO friends. The scene here is bullshit. Its full of yupsters and scene fucks in carhartts. I can hardly stand to leave the squat. I'm here because its easy to own the fuck out of it.

I get all the dumpsters I want because no one else bothers. Everything I need is a walkout away, I have papers for my dog and the public transportation isn't TOO terrible.

This squat leaves a room for my 2 year old daughter and relative safety compared to living in my car. So I'm all over it until I get the cash up to buy a bus for the three of us to live on.

In other news.. Had a couple of dudes walk through the property today, they closed and locked a second floor window that we use for an entry once the entry door is padlocked from the outside. My dog saw them first, scared the shit out of me. But they just cruised through, closed that window and left. No sign of fucking with our lock, or even coming up to our floor.


It IS the last day of the month. Maybe they do a monthly check? Either way, we're getting hasps and locks for the inner doors of our floor. And we've posted a sign on the door saying that the apartment is occupied, that they can reach us at.. whatever phone number and we'll be happy to leave when they bring the sheriff. Hopefully no one'll ever read it but us.
 

Rise 609

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Hey there Rebecca, I'm here in Knoxville at IBRR hobo's weighstation right i'll be heading your way in a few weeks (probobly 2 weeks). I was just wondering if maybe by the grace of the soup god Rebecca you might be able to hook me up with a place to crash there. YOu can check with quite a few people here on the forum and they'll let you know i'm a fairly respectable person. Any info would be appreciated by PM.
 

KEVIlgeNius

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NOOOO For the last week I was living vicariously through the idea that somewhere you were experiencing an abandoned apartment building to yourself... now that dream is over? I am not ready to accept it.
 

Angela

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RIP Danger Palace you were there when i needed you

Most of em don't last very long, all we can ask is that they last long enough. Sorry to hear that it's life was so short.
 

RebeccaSoup

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three and a half weeks... it worked pretty well. they found us accidentally. since we had to circumvent a fence, it was kind of an easy trespassing charge.

Ive got a kid and a dog.. i guess it wouldve been too much work to arrest us. but damn, im homesick.
 

gangleri

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That really sucks. On the other hand, though, if you're in the Piedmont (word up, kakalak!) theres loads of abandoned industrial properties that might be a bit lower-key. I know at least all along 40 theres places aplenty.
 

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