ATLANTA — The long-empty, blighted property at 1155 Peachtree Street in midtown Atlanta will have a new, multi-million-dollar property tax imposed on its owner.
For the first time, the Atlanta City Council approved use of its 2024 blighted property tax provision to increase property taxes on the gutted tower by 25 times due to what city officials say is its level of neglect.
Channel 2 Action News reported on the status of how the city has used its blight tax provision since it was implemented in 2024. A recent audit showed it hadn’t been used a single time since being passed.
That status has changed.
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In early June, council members Kelsea Bond and Matt Westmoreland sponsored a resolution naming the Peachtree Street property as a target for the blight tax due to its long-standing issues.
Complaints from neighbors have persisted since it was purchased for redevelopment by former Georgia Institute of Technology football star turned real estate mogul John Dewberry in 2021.
A petition from Atlantans for transparency and change is still active, urging action on the potentially dangerous property.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- Gutted Midtown tower’s owner faces possible blight tax bill of $2.1M
- ‘Substantially gutted’ tower, construction site in Atlanta deemed ‘unsafe,’ building permits expired
- ‘No end in sight:’ Atlanta City Council discussing plan for blight tax on hollowed out high-rise
- ‘Blight tax’ was passed to improve neglected properties. An audit finds no tax collected
- City of Atlanta cracks down on abandoned, vacant properties after ‘blight tax’ passed
On Tuesday, the city council voted to apply the blight tax to the building.
Channel 2 Action News has covered the former Campanile building, now called The Midtowne, several times in recent weeks as members of the Atlanta City Council pushed for solutions to what they say is a safety issue.
The legislation in the Atlanta City Council said that with “no end in sight” to the building’s hollowed-out status, they were pursuing action to hold the owner accountable.
The resolution followed the City of Atlanta’s building department, declaring the structure unsafe after a pedestrian was able to access what was supposed to be a blocked-off construction zone.
The building’s construction permits expired in October.
Channel 2’s Michael Doudna reported that when city officials estimated the increased tax to be as much as $2.1 million.
Previously, attorneys for Dewberry said in a statement that “There is nothing unsafe with The Midtowne building and construction site. The cited warning was for an alleged unsecured construction barrier. The property and construction site is secured by an 8 ft wall fence made out of 400,000 recycled plastic bottles manufactured by Friends Opbox in Midcoast, Maine.”
When the building was initially declared unsafe by building officials, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens took aim at Dewberry over the property, saying, “We expect all property owners in the city of Atlanta to follow the law. There is State law, there is City law, but there is no John Dewberry law. I will reserve additional comment as this is likely to result in litigation.”
Channel 2 Action News asked representatives for Dewberry and his company about the property now that the blight tax was approved, and is waiting for a response.
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