Atlanta council members push blight tax for Dewberry’s skeletal Midtown tower

More than $440,000 in city, county and school taxes and fees were paid on the property in 2025, of which $91,624.19 was paid in the city of Atlanta’s general operating taxes. A blight penalty could increase the city general tax bill on the property from more than $91,000 to nearly $2.3 million.

Blight taxes are often used for abandoned residences, but they can also be applied to commercial properties that are not the primary residence of one or more people. Bond and co-sponsor, at-large Council member Matt Westmoreland, want the tax applied to 1155 Peachtree, which is owned by an LLC controlled by developer John Dewberry.

“It is unacceptable and inexplicable to me that this situation has been allowed to fester as long as it has,” Westmoreland told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday. “And it’s my hope that the property owner will remedy the situation immediately or sell the parcel to someone who will.”

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

The measure was referred to the Community Development and Human Resources Committee, as well as the Finance Executive Committee, where it will be up for discussion at a later date.

In a statement, Bond said the Department of City Planning is visiting the site this week for inspection. Bond said the hope is that alongside use of the blight tax, the city can identify additional code violations on the site during their inspection.

“Wealthy developers like Dewberry can be powerful and well-resourced, which may be part of why this has gone on so long. However, I believe that it’s important to explore every tool at our disposal to hold this developer accountable,” Bond said in the statement.

Westmoreland said the resolution has eight other cosigners on the council.

The building is owned by The Midtowne LLC. Dewberry’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The measure comes two weeks after the city posted a legal notice deeming the Campanile site as unsafe. It’s unclear if Dewberry also faces fines amid the unsafe notice.

The project, which began as a dramatic renovation to an aging office building into what Dewberry calls The Midtowne, has sat empty and exposed to the elements for more than five years.

Credit: Stell Simonton

Credit: Stell Simonton

Concerns from nearby residents and office workers in the area have been mounting for years. Many have voiced frustration over the cracked sidewalks around the site and the construction crane suspended over the property, calling it an eyesore at a busy corner in one of Atlanta’s most important office districts.

A recent petition by Midtown resident Gary Freedman asking for transparency about the condition of the site, inspections of the crane and immediate repair and restoration of surrounding roads and sidewalks, among other demands, has received more than 1,900 signatures.

Westmoreland credited a deluge of emails from residents with the resolution’s introduction.

“We have probably received at this point well over 400 emails in the last two weeks from Midtown residents and Midtown workers just expressing exasperation with the situation,” he said.

In response to the legal notice, Dewberry’s wife, Jaimie Brown Dewberry, told the AJC late last month the company had received no information or details about what precipitated the warning, noting that the site is secured and locked with no pedestrian openings. She said work has been ongoing, most recently with driving pilings underground to support the building’s planned new floors and podium.

Credit: Zachary Hansen

Credit: Zachary Hansen

The construction zone poses “safety concerns, and has for several years, with no end in sight,” according to Bond and Westmoreland’s resolution. It’s unclear whether Dewberry has been contacted by the City Council regarding the introduced resolution.

After the legal notice was posted in May, Bond told the AJC that the city likely doesn’t have legal recourse to compel Dewberry to finish the building, but they were exploring options to get progress moving. In 2021, the city’s Office of Buildings filed an abandoned project complaint against the structure, which Dewberry previously said he resolved.

“The worst thing we can do is wave our hands and say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing we can actually do about this’ and not even look into it or inquire about what options we do have,” Bond said last month.

— Staff writer Shaddi Abusaid contributed to this report.