The website Buckhead.com said Elton John is leaving his Buckhead condo after 32 years.
Residents at the 40-story luxury highrise Park Place, where he owns more than 13,000 square feet, said they had seen movers take out his artwork and belongings over the past month, according to the article written by Atlanta real estate agent Ben Hirsh.
Representatives for John at the PR firm Rogers & Cowan did not return emails for comment.
John, 76, who recently wrapped his touring career, first planted roots in Atlanta in April 1991, buying a penthouse at Park Place. Although he had multiple residences in different cities, he spent a lot of time in the city to the point The Wall Street Journal in 2001 did a page one story about his love for Atlanta soon after the High Museum of Art opened “Chorus of Light: Photographs from the Sir Elton John Collection,” an exhibition of 20th-century images amassed by the rock star.
In recent years, John began to spend more time in England with his husband David Furnish and has not been seen much in Atlanta.
He first made Atlanta his American home base shortly after a stint in drug and alcohol rehab in 1990. His then Atlanta boyfriend Hugh Williams introduced him to the city.
John settled in and Atlanta embraced him. In his early years, he drove around without security and enjoyed that most locals did not bother him while he was in public dining or shopping.
“People always ask me, ‘Why do you have a place in Atlanta?’” John said in a 1998 interview with the AJC. “It’s because people here have always been that nice to me. … I’ve always been welcomed. I feel at home.”
In 2004, he added: “My life here in Atlanta is as normal a life as I can lead anywhere in the world.”
Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
He noshed at Buckhead Diner with Elizabeth Taylor. He purchased high-priced photography from Fay Gold Gallery. He rode Thunder River at Six Flags. He made weekly appearances every Tuesday by himself at Tower Records to buy the latest CD releases. He visited batting practice at an Atlanta Braves game the year they won the World Series in 1995.
He stopped by Star 94′s Steve and Vikki morning show multiple times. He premiered his musical “Aida” at the Alliance Theatre in 1998. He named an album he penned here “Peachtree Road” in 2004. He recorded singles with Atlanta-based rockers Collective Soul and Shawn Mullins.
He showed up at parties and charity events all over town, including Jermaine Dupri’s 26th birthday party in 1998 and the Atlanta Smash Hits World Team Tennis charity event in 2008 with Billie Jean King at Kennesaw State University. He created his Elton John AIDS Foundation in Atlanta in 1992, raising hundreds of millions of dollars, and walked the city’s first AIDS Walk in 1991.
Over the years, he added to his original unit, eventually owning seven units on multiple floors, much of it filled with his extensive art collection, according to Buckhead.com.
Credit: Courtesy of High Museum of Art. ©Charlie McCullers, 2000.
Credit: Courtesy of High Museum of Art. ©Charlie McCullers, 2000.
He made his final concert appearance in Atlanta last September at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“I’ve lived here for 30 years, and I’ve loved every single minute,” he said to the crowd. “So I will take you with me in my heart, in my soul, and I’ll never forget you.”
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