A crane looming over the unfinished renovation of an office building at Peachtree and 14th streets in Midtown has raised safety concerns from nearby residents.
Residents say the crane has been out of operation for four years, while renovations on the former Campanile building, now called The Midtowne, remain unfinished.
Renovation and expansion of The Midtowne, owned by Dewberry Capital, began in 2019, before stalling during the COVID-19 pandemic. The building was gutted, but the bare-bones structure remains exposed to the elements. Midtown residents and businesses have complained that the work site is an eyesore and is decreasing property values.
Gary Freedman, who lives in an apartment complex across the street from the building, is no longer concerned about the renovation or property value issues, but rather his safety.
“If anything were to ever happen to that crane, my building would be taken out,” he said.
It wouldn’t be the first time Freedman witnessed such an accident; when he lived in New York, a crane collapsed near his home on 57th Street in 2012. Now, he faces the same threat. Freedman has seen the crane’s arm spinning and its tower swaying during storms.
On April 7, Freedman wrote to Mayor Andre Dickens’ office and city officials with his concerns. “Given the duration of inactivity, residents deserve clarity on the current condition of the structure and any ongoing safety oversight,” he wrote.
He has not received a response from the city.
“I would not be concerned if they could just provide proof to residents in Midtown and the media that that crane is being inspected and that it has a solid foundation,” Freedman said.
In 2021, the city filed an abandoned project complaint against The Midtowne, which was resolved by Dewberry’s pledge to complete the building. In a December 2025 interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dewberry said interior work had resumed inside the structure and would continue.
Freedman works from home and can see the crane and a part of the building from his window. The only activity he sees at the site is, about once a week, construction workers will swing the crane in a different direction.
“They’re just sort of doing that to bypass city regulations or whatever, making it seem as if the crane’s in operation,” Freedman claimed. “Once a week, you will see two guys with orange vests and white hats just walk around the property, kicking dirt. There’s nothing being done.”
In 2024, Urbanize Atlanta interviewed John Dewberry, the owner of Dewberry Capital who has become infamous for abandoned and prolonged construction projects across the Southeast. He stated during the interview that The Midtowne would be completed in two years, making 2026 the expected completion. The only quote the interviewer was allowed to print, as the majority of the 90-minute discussion was strictly off-the-record, was, “We’re working night and day to try to deliver a great product for Atlanta.”
Built in 1987, the Campanile building originally served as BellSouth’s headquarters and was purchased by Dewberry in 2010.
The lack of activity on the building has held up other construction in the city. The Juniper Complete Street Project, which began in May 2023 to widen the corridor to allow for easier travel, cannot be completed until lane closures on 14th to 13th street are reopened, which are in place due to The Midtowne work site.
“[The City of Atlanta] lets builders get away with murder–what actually could be murder, if that crane falls and kills people,” Freedman said. “The city has to come up with a solution.”
Collin Kelley contributed to this story.
