ATLANTA — Members of the Atlanta City Council are discussing a plan to impose the city’s 25X blight tax on the gutted high-rise at 1155 Peachtree Street.
The resolution to explore that plan was filed on June 1, sponsored by council members Kelsea Bond and Matt Westmoreland.
The tower, called the Midtowne building now but colloquially known as the Campanile building, has sat in a state of partial completion for several years.
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In the latest city council meeting, Bond and Westmoreland’s resolution calls for the blight tax penalty to be imposed on the property.
Atlanta passed the blight tax in 2024, aimed at making distressed property owners deal with problems or face 25X tax costs.
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The resolution filed this week explicitly targets the tower on Peachtree Street, saying it has “remained in a state of structural disrepair” since 2020 and has posed safety concerns for years, with no end in sight.
Residents of Atlanta have pushed for a resolution to the vacant, hollowed out high-rise, saying its location in a busy and densely populated section of downtown is a safety concern.
But Channel 2’s Michael Doudna reported on a city audit which showed the provision it has not been used on any properties since its inception.
The audit, released in February, said that “Although the blighted property legislation, Ordinance 24-O-1370, was passed in August 2024, city officials have not yet formalized the program, and no actions have been taken against any blighted properties under the ordinance.”
A petition from Atlantans for transparency and change is still active.
Channel 2 Action News reported in May when the City of Atlanta declared the property unsafe, due to a construction barrier still allowing pedestrian access, and construction permits expiring in October 2025.
A representative for the company, and its owner John Dewberry, said in a statement at the time 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."
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the company’s representative for comment on the resolution.
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