FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Contact: Jennifer Mayer Tel: 478/742-5084 Email: jmayer@historicmacon.org
HISTORIC MACON TO HOLD PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING DOWNTOWN LOFT PROJECT MACON, Ga. — Historic Macon Foundation will hold a press conference to announce its downtown loft project on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 11:00 a.m. in front of the building at 551 Cherry St., the inaugural property for the project. Through the support of The 1772 Foundation, The E.J. Grassmann Trust and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, Historic Macon has completed fundraising to meet the challenge from the Peyton Anderson Foundation to establish a $500,000 revolving fund for downtown Macon. Construction will begin in the next few months to convert the building at 551 Cherry St. into three to four residential lofts and one commercial storefront, all to be sold to owner-occupants. Historic Macon’s preservation committee has selected Shannon Fickling, AIA as the architect and Rusty Poss as the construction manager for the 3,600-square-foot loft project. Carrie Cameron Robinson, Historic Macon's preservation designer, will work as the interior designer. “Our hope is to establish a core of homeowners in downtown Macon and to entice private developers to produce owner-occupied housing for the long-term stability of downtown revitalization,” said Historic Macon Executive Director Josh Rogers. Attachments: 1) 551Cherry.jpg and 551CherryLofts.jpg - Exterior images of the building 2) 551CherryandRookery.jpg - Exterior photo illustrating the location of the property through its proximity to the Rookery About Historic Macon Foundation Historic Macon Foundation is a nonprofit organization in Macon, Ga. that stemmed from the merger of the Middle Georgia Historical Society and the Macon Heritage Foundation in 2003. Historic Macon’s mission is to revitalize the community by preserving architecture and sharing history. The organization advocates for Macon’s historic and architectural heritage, facilitates preservation and revitalization efforts in the community and maintains and promotes the Sidney Lanier Cottage, which is open for public visitation Thursday–Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Historic Macon’s offices are located in the Sidney Lanier Cottage at 935 High St., Macon, GA 31201. For more information, visit www.historicmacon.org or call 478/742-5084.
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