(ATLANTA, GA.) - The Atlanta City Council is in talks of exploring tax penalties on abandoned buildings across the city using its blight tax, according to a resolution presented at the full council meeting on June 1.
The move would increase taxes by up to 25 times the normal amount for investors intentionally leaving abandoned properties. The main area of concern is the abandoned building that sits at 1155 Peachtree Street.
Residents have long complained about safety concerns and set up a petition that now has over 2,000 signatures and counting, asking the city to respond to the issue.
“Midtown residents want confidence that the crane and surrounding structure have been properly evaluated and that our homes, families, and community are protected,” an excerpt of the petition said. “City authorities have determined the site requires public warning and restricted access, and project permits have expired.”
Known as the Campanile Plaza, the site was built in 1987 and is owned by the Dewberry Group, led by John Dewberry, who purchased the building in 2010. The site has sat dormant since 2020. Construction permits expired in October 2025.
In light of ongoing construction development, Allison Johnson, a resident who spoke up about the city’s Neighborhood Reinvestment Initiative (NRI) and Tax Allocation Districts (TADs) during public comment, said too much development is happening in the city without enough community input.
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“We’ve been through redlining, now we’re going through beltlining,” Johnson said. “Our communities were hit and decimated the worst. I’m from Peoples Town and our community is gone. We need guardrails around these projects.”
Echoing concerns about the pace of change across the city, Abbi Henderson, a resident who has lived in Atlanta for over 20 years, said the city is moving too slowly to meet residents’ needs and also touched on policing for the upcoming FIFA World Cup that begins on June 15.
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“That’s going to be a cause for disaster in the next upcoming years,” she said. “We need alternatives that reduce arrests and unnecessary jail involvement . It needs to continue to be part of the response infrastructure. My ask is to please dispatch 911 calls for low-level issues to PAD instead of police, especially during World Cup when 311 is not available.”
Michael Collins also spoke about whether or not the city is “World Cup ready” during public comment, referencing the city's recent flooding, boil water advisory and what he called a “botched” rollout of Marta upgrades as the main concerns for why its not.
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“I sincerely hope that we are ready, but in recent weeks we have seen some worrying signals from the city,” Collins said.
Collins also pointed to the Playfair ATL human rights tracker by WABE, an online tracker that monitors whether the city is following through on its promises in its Human Rights Action Plan. The city currently has a “D” rating.
“The mayor’s office said they would uphold human rights commitments in advance of the World Cup,” Collins said. “These are not our promises – these are the promises of the mayor, and they are falling woefully short. And what is going on between the mayor’s office and PAD? It seems like the mayor is pushing PAD out of the Center for Diversion services playing around with their contract, not renewing. We need them to step up their game as it relates to PAD.”
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