Actions underway IN MACON’S URBAN CORE

A significant amount of investment can be seen on the ground in the Urban Core, much of which has taken place in the past five years.

With recent and proposed projects across the entire study area, MAP has the opportunity to build on this momentum and help tie the following accomplishments and ongoing initiatives together:

Mixed-Use Development at Mercer Village – built in the years following the original College Hill Corridor Master Plan, Mercer Village created a new commercial hub within the Urban Core with student housing in the Lofts at Mercer built atop ground floor commercial including Mercer’s campus bookstore (Barnes & Noble), a mix of food and drink options including Jittery Joe’s, Sauced Pizza, Francar’s Buffalo Wings, Margarita’s Mexican Grill, and Fountain of Juice, as well as beauty services. Traffic calming and new plantings have fostered a pedestrianfriendly environment that connects with Tattnall Square Park and Lofts Phase 3, flanking the park.

Neighborhoods Rebuilding – residential infill has transformed many blocks in Beall’s Hill, with a mix of historic home renovations and new construction taking the place of once blighted properties. Investments coordinated by the Historic Macon Foundation through the Historic Hills & Heights Development Corporation, private developers, new homeowners, and long-term residents are complemented by the efforts of the active Beall’s Hill Neighborhood Association, which brings neighbors together to address community issues and discuss future opportunities for change, including the potential for loft rentals and improved stormwater management.

Catalyst Projects – in addition to residential infill, the Urban Core is home to several new and proposed catalyst projects including the Dannenberg lofts and the Lofts at College Hill which have brought modern design and a mix of residential and retail space to the site behind the Macon Post Office. Just down College Street in both directions, new cultural institutions have found homes in old buildings: the Tattnall Square Center for the Arts and Mercer University’s Townsend School of Music. And proposals for new mixed use developments downtown and closer to the Ocmulgee River promise to strengthen and grow the center of downtown proper.