In response to growing concern over a stalled construction site at Peachtree Street and 14th Street in Midtown, the Atlanta City Council is exploring tax penalties equivalent to 25 times the current millage rate for owners of blighted properties.
After the City of Atlanta posted a safety warning on the site of 1155 Peachtree Street on May 19, Midtown residents began circulating a petition, which has gained over 2,000 signatures in the past week, asking city officials for transparency and swift action.
The 20-story office building – known as The Campanile or The Midtowne – at 1155 Peachtree Street was purchased by commercial developer John Dewberry in 2019. The project has been stalled since 2020, and has remained in a state of structural disrepair according to city documents.
As Rough Draft Atlanta reported last week, construction permits for the site expired in October 2025. Yet, workers were spotted at the building on May 30 replacing old plywood with temporary safety railing commonly used to prevent workers, tools, and materials from falling during construction.
Atlanta City Council members Kelsea Bond and Matt Westmoreland introduced a resolution at the June 1 meeting asking Mayor Andre Dickens’ office to levy a blight tax on the Dewberry property.
Bond told Rough Draft the city passed an ordinance two years ago to create a blight tax, but the mechanisms to levy that tax have not yet been put in place.
“There have been recent developments to work towards getting the blight tax up and running, so council members are asking the city to explore using it on this specific site which, since the construction permits expired, may qualify as an abandoned site,” Bond said.
The resolution will go through committee review, then on to city council for a vote. Bond said the Department of City Planning is expected to visit the site this week, which may help identify other ways the city can cite the property for code violations.
