Penthouse suites proposed for downtown Macon tower

A downtown Macon landmark is one step closer to redevelopment as residential housing and commercial space.

The Macon-Bibb County Commission’s Committee of the Whole moved forward Tuesday on a proposed agreement to transform the Willie C. Hill Government Center annex into a multimillion-dollar, mixed-used property. The 62,000-square-foot Cherry Street building is now home to government and commercial offices.

The Integrity Development Partners project calls for 40 studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments and penthouse suites, ranging in size from 600 square feet to about 2,000 square feet. The bottom floors would be for commercial space, according to the proposal.

If approved by the full commission on Nov. 15, the project’s outcome still hinges on the developer’s getting tax credits for historic preservation to offset some costs. The main developer in the project would be IDP Housing based out of Valdosta and Stratford Capital Group. Dunwody/Beeland Architects, out of Macon, would help redesign the 11-story building that opened in 1941.

“If they cannot get (tax credits), the deal would not be feasible from a financial standpoint, but they do expect to get those,” County Attorney Judd Drake said.

Under the agreement, the project would be turned over to the control of the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority, which would work with the developer. Integrity Development Partners would purchase the building from the county for $1 million.

“They are contemplating spending between $9 (million) and $11 million on the building,” Mayor Robert Reichert said. “I think they would be a wonderful partner and think it would a wonderful use to have it fully restored.”

The county has spent about $150,000 for a firm to study the prospects of redeveloping the annex and finding investors. The building costs about $160,000 a year to operate, and it also has about $1 million in capital needs, Robert Ryals, director of the Macon-Bibb Facilities Management Department, told county officials last year.

“If we keep the building, it’s going to be vacant and have some horrendous repair costs,” Reichert said Tuesday.

When the building opened in 1941, it was dominant on the Macon skyline. In earlier times it was known as the Bankers Insurance Building and the Southern Trust Building.

This story was originally published November 8, 2016 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Penthouse suites proposed for downtown Macon tower."