Hotel Meets End in New Year’s Day Demo in Macon
The old Ramada hotel in downtown Macon, Ga., finally met its end in a cloud of dust and debris on New Year’s Day.
The hotel had been a fixture of the Macon skyline for almost 56 years, but perpetually struggled to stay booked with guests. During its history, the building also had been at the center of a murder and an international drug scandal, leaving it with a tarnished reputation among locals and visitors alike.
Macon-Bibb County acquired it in late 2023 for $4.5 million to become the last of the hotel’s many owners. Mayor Lester Miller told the Macon Telegraph that the building was immediately slated for demolition because of the whopping $100 million price tag to restore it.
The hotel — its facade a checkerboard of shattered windows and cracked concrete walls — has hindered development along First and Walnut streets due to safety concerns and its unsightliness, Miller said. As a result, businesses were hesitant to move in, and, because it was an eyesore, they worried it could present safety issues.
Georgia Gov. Brian P. Kemp announced Dec. 4 the six inaugural recipients of the OneGeorgia Authority’s new Rural Site Development Initiative grant.
Recognizing the vital importance of ready for development sites, this initiative enables the state’s rural communities to identify, assess and develop new industrial sites, as well as help to maintain the capacity for economic growth and Georgia’s competitive edge.
Eligible activities include, but are not limited to, site studies, land grading and other essential community infrastructure that supports site development.
“Georgia has been the number one state for business for over a decade by investing in
our future,” Kemp said in a news release.
“When we talk to companies, the first question they ask is if we have the workforce. The second is if we have the sites. The Rural Site Development Initiative is just one of the ways we’re making sure Georgia remains in pole position for economic development for years to come.”
The first round of successful grantees demonstrated substantive plans for industrial site development while meeting OneGeorgia Authority eligibility requirements, which includes certification as a Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) site location.
The inaugural grants total $9.3 million, according and each of the six award recipi-
ents have also demonstrated strong community buy-in.
“Georgia’s economic development success has been unprecedented, in part due to the combination of leadership and prior investment,” said Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Christopher Nunn. “This new tool will enable communities to remain attractive for future prospects and achieve their vision of economic prosperity.”
In addition to meeting OneGeorgia Authority requirements, applicants leveraged other funding sources to demonstrate community commitment. Use of funds is subject to all applicable state laws and regulations, as well as to the policies and requirements of the
OneGeorgia Authority and the DCA.
OneGeorgia funds also must be expended within the timeframe specified in the grant award documentation, which is generally two years from the date of the award.
“By investing in site development, communities are investing in their long-term health,” said Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) Commissioner Pat Wilson. “There is no better way to change a life for the better than creating an opportunity for a job. This program will help us continue to bring economic opportunity and prosperity into our communities, providing generational change for the better.”
Macon-Bibb County photo
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Hotel Implosion Opens Doors for New Opportunities
HOTEL from page 1
“No one has built to the [Ocmulgee River] because of this property standing here,” he added. “It is blighted, it is dangerous, it creates issues for the community.”
In the end, the county decided to hire a demolition contractor to implode the structure, which involves setting off explosives to kick out a building’s support pillars, causing it to fall inward.
J.J. Martin, a senior project manager with Ladson, S.C.based Target Contractors, a firm that specializing in demolition, explained to the Macon newspaper that implosion is a safer alternative than other demolition processes which can take longer, release more dust into the air and put nearby buildings at risk.
“It comes straight down,” he said. “Gravity pretty much takes care of it.”
ple from all over the world to Macon, and we imagine it can be that again,” Morrison said. “This will help bring the gravity of downtown Macon back towards Walnut Street and the river.”
Morrison said the city bought the hotel knowing it would be demolished. Besides the massive cost to repair it, the building also lacked the necessary structures and amenities to be used as anything other than a hotel.
“This has been a landmark property that’s brought people from all over the world to Macon, and we imagine it can be that again.”
While the county has not yet announced any formal plans for the site’s future, Alex Morrison, Macon-Bibb County’s director of planning and public spaces, said the property will likely become a more modern hotel or convention space that will tie into other revitalization efforts along the Ocmulgee River and help connect downtown to other parts of the city.
The county especially hopes to use the property to bolster a project called “Renaissance on the River,” he told the Telegraph, which is expected to bring a mixed-use development to the west bank of the river along Riverside Drive near New Street.
“This has been a landmark property that’s brought peo-
Alex Morrison Macon-Bibb County
The old Ramada Hotel was first constructed as the Macon Hilton Hotel in 1969. With 16 floors and more than 300 rooms, it was a hulking new building that dominated the city’s skyline.
At the time, it seemed like Macon was on the upswing. Construction had just wrapped on nearby Interstate 75, and local leaders hoped it would bring a new wave of visitors to the city. The hotel was a physical manifestation of that optimism, according to the Telegraph, with it being the first new hotel built downtown since 1913.
However, the ill-fated inn faced trouble from the beginning. During its construction, a drainage pipe ruptured, and the construction superintendent suffered a heart attack, delaying the project.
By 1980, the hotel’s owner had gone bankrupt, and Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. bought it for $3.1 million. The company invested $5 million in an attempt to turn the hotel into a Holiday Inn, but within eight years it was sold
again to South Carolina-based Zurich Corp.
Just a few months later, three men from Panama were arrested at the hotel on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering after undercover federal agents lured them into the city on the promise of a major drug deal.
In 1991, the Hilton Corp. cut ties with Zurich Corp., citing the fact that Zurich was not making timely renovations to the Macon structure. Shortly afterward, the building was renamed the Macon Downtown Hotel.
However, that year brought even more trouble when a guest was murdered by a hotel employee inside the building, according to prior media reports. Just six months later, in November, the hotel was renamed the Ramada Hotel and Conference Center in hopes of a fresh start.
Even then, the hotel cycled through several more owners, name changes and rebrands, all failing to generate success.
After its most recent owner went bankrupt, the hotel went up for auction in November 2023, and Morrison said the city purchased the abandoned hotel knowing it would be demolished.
Macon-Bibb County bought it via the municipality’s general fund but will reimburse the money through SPLOST funds raised through a local sales tax on select items. The transaction was finalized in 2024.
County officials jumped at the chance to acquire it, fearing it would have otherwise been caught in another ill-considered business deal and only decay more.
In the meantime, Macon residents had a chance to say goodbye to the seemingly cursed structure.
Early on Jan. 1, hundreds gathered at the designated viewing site on Coleman Hill Park to take their final look at the worn-out Ramada. Right at 9 a.m., Miller pressed a button, and the building came tumbling down like a house of cards blown over.
Grant Recipients Plan to Use Funding for Variety of Projects
GRANTS from page 1
Following is a list of the award recipients and how they will utilize the state funding:
• The Dade Industrial Development Authority in northwest Georgia was awarded $31,500 for a due diligence grant to assist with the costs of studies and reports required to seek GRAD certification for the Dade Industrial Park. The total project costs are $59,050. This grant will support the studies and reports needed to add another 50-acre tract adjacent to the existing 42-acre park.
• The Liberty County Development Authority in coastal Georgia received a grant of $2 million for site readiness improvements, including the construction of an access road, at the rail-served Tradeport West Business Center as part of renewing its GRAD certification. The Liberty County Development Authority is contributing to the total infrastructure cost of $4.7 million.
• The Joint Development Authority (JDA) of Peach County and the city of Warner
Robins in middle Georgia was awarded a grant of $2 million to construct a new roadentranceway to the Robins International Industrial Park, a “GRAD Select” park. This work will support the continued growth of the site, which has attracted $217 million in investment and 280 new jobs to the JDA area employed by a variety of companies. The JDA is contributing to the total infrastructure cost of $3.57 million.
• The Dodge County-Eastman Development Authority, also in central Georgia, received a grant of $2 million for necessary water and sewer improvements at the Eastman Aerospace Park, another GRAD Select park. The site is adjacent to the Heart of Georgia Regional Airport and Middle Georgia State University’s School of Aviation and is well-positioned to attract strategic industries such as aerospace and defense. The Dodge County-Eastman Development Authority is contributing to the total project cost, which is expected to exceed $2.2 million.
• Coastal Georgia’s Brunswick and Glynn County Development Authority was awarded $2 million in OneGeorgia funds to enhance the Georgia Breakbulk Logistics Site with road, water, sewer and site grading improvements. The total project costs are $3 million for the 700 developable acres at the rail-served site.
• Southeastern Georgia’s Screven County Development Authority received a little over $1 million in grant funds to assist with flooring and building improvements to the speculative building located within the GRAD Certified Screven County Industrial Park. The total project cost at the 70-acre site is $2 million. OneGeorgia previously assisted with an equity loan to fund the construction of the spec building.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state’s sales and marketing arm. Additionally, it is the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locat-
ing new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to the Peach State, and promoting the Georgia as a location for arts, film, and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.
GDEcD’s sister agency in Atlanta, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA,) partners with communities to build strong, vibrant neighborhoods, commercial and industrial areas through community and economic development, local government assistance, and safe and affordable housing. Using state and federal resources, DCA also assists communities spur private job creation, implement planning, develop downtowns, generate affordable housing solutions and promote volunteerism. The department also helps qualified Georgians with low to moderate incomes buy homes, rent housing and prevent foreclosure and homelessness.
