New athletic field taking shape in Macon

A Macon-Bibb County commissioner hopes a new multipurpose field will prompt more youths to play in sports leagues.

The county is in the process of acquiring homes around blighted parts of Wise Avenue, located off Riverside Drive near Rose Hill Cemetery, to put in a field that could be used for sports such as baseball, softball and football. The $2 million project is being paid for through a $14 million blight bond.

Once completed, the athletic field will become the newest property under control of the Macon-Bibb County Recreation Department. Commissioner Bert Bivins, who represents the neighborhood where the field will be built, said he envisions it becoming a place where young people, especially in the nearby Pleasant Hill area, could participate in organized sports.

“I’m trying to encourage people to put teams together,” he said.

Along with the field, a concession stand, restrooms and parking will also be added. If everything runs smoothly, the field could be finished as early as spring 2017, said Clay Murphey, who is supervising the project for Macon-Bibb.

Before construction begins, Macon-Bibb will have to finish the process of acquiring about two dozen properties, many of which are uninhabited houses, to be torn down to make room for the field. The County Commission recently approved exercising eminent domain on 12 of the Wise Avenue properties. Eminent domain is the right of a government to take private property for public use, with compensation given to the owner.

Many owners affected by the field have been willing to sell their properties, said Alison Souther Goldey, executive director of the Macon-Bibb County Land Bank Authority.

“We have done our due diligence to try and locate owners and have located a good many of them,” she recently told the County Commission. “Our problem is not necessarily people didn’t want to sell. The problem is that some of the titles are bad.”

About 80 percent of the Wise Avenue properties are vacant, said Alex Morrison, executive director of the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority.

“Generally this is the type of project you’d like to see for blight remediation,” he said. “You take an area that’s obviously blighted and has no redevelopment potential for housing and bring it back as something good for the community.”

This story was originally published August 29, 2016 at 5:15 PM with the headline "New athletic field taking shape in Macon."