Former Coca-Cola structure, built about 95 years ago in Macon, to get new life

What's left of the former Coca-Cola building in downtown Macon is about to get repurposed.

The building at 805 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, which was built about 1913, is expected to be turned into 18 lofts, according to an application filed with the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission. The 1.27-acre site containing a vacant 21,200-square-foot building is in the central business district. The property sits between Oak Street and Oak Street Lane.

The item is on the agenda for the zoning meeting Monday as a ratification item, which means it likely will not be discussed during the meeting but will be approved with other ratification items.

"Based on the configuration, it was built as a service repair building," according to the application filed by Kamal Azar, an architect with Azar & Walsh Architects. "It was last used by the Coca-Cola Company to service their trucks. The building is the only structure saved from the old Coca-Cola complex." Azar also serves on the zoning commission.

The lofts on the second floor will have balconies with cable railing, the application said. The entry doors on the first floor will be built where the original roll up doors exist now, and the entry and patio of these units will be enclosed by a black metal fence and gate.

"The applicant is applying for tax credits and will be following the GA State Historic Preservation Officer's recommendations regarding all exterior modifications," the application said.

The commission's staff report says that the proposal meets the design guidelines for the Central Business District.

The meeting begins at 1:30 p.m. in the conference room on the third floor at Terminal Station, 200 Cherry St., Suite 300.

This story was originally published June 25, 2018 at 9:23 AM with the headline "Former Coca-Cola structure, built about 95 years ago in Macon, to get new life."