New nightclub expected in downtown Macon. Will loud music be a problem?

A new nightclub and hookah bar is expected to open in downtown Macon, but under a condition to keep the noise down, the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission decided Monday.

Club Nirvana is expected to fill the old building of Comics Plus, which closed in July at 448 Second St.. The future two-story club sits on Cherry Street Lane, an alley lined with apartments including Lamar Lofts and Brew House Lofts.

The P&Z Commission approved for the property to be used for Club Nirvana with “extended hours of operation, entertainment and amplified music,” the permit application said. It’ll feature a full-service bar, VIP lounge and dance space.

The two-story club will have a party vibe below, and a lounge vibe above, according to the permit application.

The first floor will feature a DJ area, stage and dance floor, the application said. The second floor will have three private rooms and an open space including pool tables, dart boards and couches.

The club is not expected to serve food, nor will it alter the exterior of the building, according to the application.

Nirmal Kumar Das applied for the permit and presented the business plan with Michael Mayo, attorney and owner of The Mayo Firm in Macon, to commissioners during a P&Z hearing Monday afternoon.

Mayo said the business will fit in with downtown’s nightlife energy.

“The section of Second Street there on Poplar Street and Cherry Street is dominated by restaurants and brew pubs and bars,” Mayo said. “We believe this would be a compliment to the downtown scene and in compliance with all existing ordinances and regulations.”

Noise concerns

Before commissioners unanimously approved the permit, Chair Jeane Easom advised Das and Mayo about common complaints from residents in lofts near bars and clubs downtown.

“Most of the complaints that we’ve gotten from nightclubs or bars have not necessarily been about the noise, but about the base and the vibrations of what it does to the adjacent properties,” Easom said.

Das said he did not yet have a plan to mitigate sound leakage that would come from 2,400-watt speakers in the club. But he said it won’t be an issue.

“Just a couple of weeks back… when we turned it onto the full volume, we didn’t feel any vibrations outside the building or on the backside of the alley,” Das told the commission.

Despite this, the conditional use permit was approved “with the caveat that they obtain a sound mitigation plan,” Easom said.

“The applicant must incorporate adequate measures to protect the occupants of neighboring properties, as well as the structures since vibration from extreme bass can compromise a structure’s integrity,” the permit said of the site built in 1927, according to public property records.

It was unclear when Club Nirvana would open.