ATLANTA — In the middle of Midtown stands exposed concrete, a skeleton of a skyscraper. Now the city faces a choice of whether to make the owner pay a blight tax.
“It is unstable, and it is an eyesore,” Gia Zieburtz told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna.
Residents say the Campanile building an eyesore that causes them worries.
“The sidewalks are uneven. The half-dead trees have been like this for years, with their trunks sticking out,” Zieburtz said.
This used to be BellSouth’s headquarters but is now just a shell of its former self after neighbors say the building’s owner let it fall into disrepair.
“He is a slumlord, except he’s not even a lord. He’s just a slumb. I mean, nobody’s renting any of this,” Zieburtz said.
“This building has just sat empty, and a project has stalled for more than five years, and that’s not acceptable,” Matt Westmoreland, Atlanta City Council, Post 2 at Large
So on Monday, Westmoreland says the city will vote to levy a blight tax on the property, which could increase property taxes by 25 times — from $91,000 to $2.1 million.
“What we can do is say: if you’re going to keep your property looking like this, it’s going to cost you more,” Westmoreland said.
Channel 2 Action News tried to contact the building’s owner but received no response.
For residents nearby, they hope the tax is passed and leads to change.
But they doubt that the owner will actually pay the price.
“I’ll believe it when I actually see it. And I actually won’t believe it until we know that he’s paid it,” Zieburtz said.
The blight tax bill is on the city council’s consent agenda for Monday.
however, final enforcement is left to the executive branch.
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PREVIOUS COVERAGE:
- ‘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
- ‘Substantially gutted’ tower, construction site in Atlanta deemed ‘unsafe,’ building permits expired
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