Comments (0) | |

Thursday, Oct. 09, 2008

NewTown Macon pleased with downtown activity

At its annual community meeting Wednesday at the Library Ballroom, NewTown Macon board members announced sound finances, yearly progress and a roster of downtown projects focusing on residential growth and more jobs in 2009.

"A vibrant downtown is not only possible but necessary for the future of Macon," said NewTown Chairman Thomas Wicker, addressing nearly 75 downtown business owners, residents, community leaders and elected officials, including Mayor Robert Reichert.

Wicker highlighted six projects - two mixed-use commercial centers, expansions to the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail, NewTown's new management of Terminal Station, the ongoing alley streetscape initiative and a loft apartment development at Third and New streets.

The projects will need the continued support of investors in the public and private sectors, he said.

Fundraising results of a capital campaign launched in 2007 by the 12-year downtown revitalization group included more than $16 million in cash pledges, business service donations and government grants, Wicker reported.

Also during that period, he said, 18 new businesses opened downtown, employing about 80 people.

Wicker said he hopes investors will continue to capitalize on NewTown's efforts to increase residential units and establish a renewed "sense of place" downtown - despite the tough economy.

An urban study performed by an expert at the University of Georgia estimates there will be enough demand for new downtown housing by 2013 to accommodate 189 units each year, Wicker said.

Of the projects NewTown is prioritizing for next year, three have residential components.

The New Street project will include four buildings, 43 units, divided into rental lofts and efficiencies.

At Third and Poplar streets, developers are transforming the Dannenberg Building into 40 loft units, including 10 condominiums for sale, and a restaurant and other retail space.

The old Capricorn recording studio on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and the former site of the Rescue Mission will be developed into an 85-room boutique hotel and 45 additional housing units, according to the organization.

"It's a varied group of projects that will make a significant difference downtown," Wicker said. "They're all exciting."

Ken Stapleton, an expert on downtown economic development and executive director of the University Park Alliance, a redevelopment organization in Akron, Ohio, spoke Wednesday of Macon's high potential for further downtown revitalization.

"Ten years ago, we were trying to create the market," he said. "We've seen a shift over the last five years, the market has responded. The market wants to be in downtown Macon."

Stapleton cited national trends such as greater investor interest in areas with anchor institutions such as medical centers and universities, residents looking to "live green" and drive less, safer cities, growth along the Southern Sunbelt and innovative business strategies.

Growth downtown is vital as Macon tries to stand apart from other mid-sized Georgia cities, he said.

"If you don't have a vibrant core city, your region will not prosper. Your region will not even survive," he said.

Various Macon business leaders and citizens received awards Wednesday for their work to grow jobs, attract residents and beautify downtown.

Honorees included Dick Godshalck, a business counselor with the Macon Score Program; Kevin DuBose of the city's Economic and Community Development Department; the Bragg Jam music festival; Benjy Griffith of the Armory Ballroom; the Playground Project at the Water Works Park; City Market on the Green; and Wimberly Treadwell of the Alley Project.

To contact writer Ashley Tusan Joyner, call 744-4347.