Site of skeletal Midtown office tower hit with ‘unsafe’ warning

The site of a skeletal office tower that has languished for years at the corner of 14th and Peachtree streets and labeled by neighbors as an eyesore has been deemed unsafe by the city of Atlanta.

Red paper signs with the city’s seal state “WARNING!” in all-caps and goes on to assert “this structure is dangerous and unsafe.”

The city’s Department of Planning and Community Development posted the legal notices dated Monday at the Campanile site at 1155 Peachtree St.

The site has been deemed unsafe because of an unsecured construction barrier, according to a copy of an email sent by Greg Pace, the director of the Office of Buildings, and reviewed by The Atlanta Journal‑Constitution. The recipient was an official within Mayor Andre Dickens’ office. The barrier needs to be secured to prevent access to the construction site, Pace wrote in the email.

Dewberry Capital, which has owned the site for more than a decade, is subject to penalty if it does not repair the issue, Dickens told the AJC on Wednesday. It was not immediately clear what the penalty could be.

Dewberry Capital was founded by famed Atlanta developer and former Georgia Tech football star John Dewberry.

Dewberry declined to comment. His wife, Jaimie Brown Dewberry, said in an interview Wednesday afternoon they have attempted to reach the officer who issued the notice, as well as the mayor’s office and the Office of Buildings.

She said the company has received no information or details on why they have been issued the warning. They have not received any additional information beyond what she described as “the red Post-it.”

“The site is secured and locked with zero pedestrian openings,” Brown Dewberry said during the Wednesday interview.

In a separate email sent late Wednesday afternoon, she said a security team monitors the property 24/7, just as it does the nearby Peachtree Pointe mixed-use office complex that’s also owned by Dewberry Capital.

A section of the Campanile building can be seen from Peachtree Street NE and 14th Street on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Dewberry Capital purchased the building in 2010, but little visible progress has been made since renovation began more than five years ago. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Rising at the corner of what many consider Atlanta’s Main and Main, the project has sat empty and exposed to the elements for years, its stone and glass exterior removed, as corporate investment in Midtown surged. The surrounding sidewalks have also fallen into disrepair.

In recent weeks, neighbors have raised concerns about the construction crane on the tower site, including in a story last week in Urbanize Atlanta.

The lack of progress on the tower has hurt the community in a major way, Dickens told the AJC, and has impeded other developers to complete “some of the visionary plans that we all have for the Midtown area.”

“There’s city of Atlanta law, there’s Georgia law, there’s no Dewberry law,” Dickens said.

Dewberry acquired the building in 2010 for $36 million, or about one-third the price its previous owner paid, with plans to renovate the structure. The building dates back to the 1980s, when it previously housed the headquarters of BellSouth.

Dewberry has announced ambitious plans for the office tower that include encasing the building in new marble, creating a penthouse office suite and adding new floors of space. He’s also rebranded the tower, calling it The Midtowne.

His company was awarded millions of dollars in tax breaks to help him accomplish that, but the project hit snags along the way.

The Campanile building (right center) at 1155 Peachtree St. in Midtown, as seen in 2011, was built in 1987 as BellSouth's headquarters. BellSouth/AT&T moved out in 2007, leaving the tower nearly vacant. Developer John Dewberry bought the building out of distress in 2010 for $36 million. (Stell Simonton for the AJC)

Little visible progress has been made since Dewberry began the renovation process more than five years ago, despite periodic confirmations that work is ongoing and talk of negotiating leases with tenants. In 2021, the city’s Office of Buildings filed an abandoned project complaint against the structure, which Dewberry previously said he resolved.

Building permits issued for construction at the location have expired, most recently in October, according to Pace’s email. Brown Dewberry said the permits expired because someone reported that their construction site was inactive, which she said was incorrect. The firm was working underground driving pylons, an expense to the tune of $2 million that was part of extending the building’s new floors and supporting its new podium.

She added in an email that Berkel & Co. Contractors drove the pilings, construction firm D Build Inc. sorted soil removal and Nova Engineering handled inspections, saying there’s invoices and inspection reports to show work was being done.

In the years following Dewberry’s acquisition, development in Midtown has surged. Since 2018, 53 new projects have been completed in the core of Midtown, according to the Midtown Alliance. Currently, there are another five projects under construction and nine projects in permitting.

The site has been as much of an eyesore as it has been a safety issue, residents have said in the past. The crane suspended above the site has become a point of concern, which Midtown resident Gary Freedman told Urbanize spins during storms.

A representative for the project’s construction firm, D Build, later told Urbanize that the crane is maintained in accordance with applicable standards. It is in what’s referred to as a weather vane position, which allows the crane to move with the wind as to protect the surrounding areas from damage, the Urbanize report said.

The city of Atlanta recently deemed the Campanile site as dangerous and unsafe. (Zachary Hansen/AJC)

Atlanta City Councilmember Kelsea Bond, who represents District 2, including much of Midtown, said the lack of completion has spillover effects into the public realm. There are inaccessible sidewalks around the building that aren’t compliant with standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act, Bond said.

“It has been such a detriment to Midtown. With the crane development, people are really concerned for their safety,” Bond said.

Bond said the city likely doesn’t have legal recourse to compel Dewberry to finish the building. But they’re exploring options to get progress moving, whether it’s withholding future construction permits or another form of leverage.

“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.

The city understands monetary challenges and the time it takes to fill gaps in financing, Dickens said. But at a certain point, it cannot wait indefinitely.