Construction on major downtown development could start this year

A proposed $55 million downtown development has cleared a major hurdle.

The Macon-Bibb County Commission voted Tuesday night to turn over control of properties where the project will be built to the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority. Tuesday’s agreement means the authority can begin working toward issuing up to $20 million in bonds that would be used to build linchpins for the mixed-used development: parking decks that would provide 790 spaces.

The Exchange Block project would be located within the block surrounded by Poplar, Second, Plum and First streets. It would feature a 120-room hotel and 87 apartments, as well as new new retail and office space.

The parking decks would be built at 674 Poplar St. and behind the Macon-Bibb County Government Center. The county could back out of the agreement for the parking decks if a study shows it is not a good financial investment, County Attorney Judd Drake said Tuesday.

Revenue from payment in lieu of taxes, along with tenant parking fees, would be used to pay off the bonds.

“The development authority anticipates there will be enough money from the payment in lieu of taxes and parking fees to make the payment, but we’ll act as a credit backstop in case there is not,” Drake said.

One of the project’s developers said he’s confident that everything is lining up for construction on the project to start this year. The Exchange Block is a joint venture between Miller Heath III, CEO of MMI Capital LLC, and Tim Thornton, CEO of Thornton Realty Co., both based in Macon.

There are commitments from partners to build a brand name hotel, retail space and apartments, Heath said this week.

“It’s probably been the ‘30s or ‘40s since a project of this scale has been done here,” he said. “But with the revitalization of downtown and everything that’s going on, it’s the time and place. The moon and stars are aligned with this one.”

There isn’t a concrete timeline for construction to start, but people will be surprised how quickly the development begins taking shape, Heath said.

“I can’t tell you when the start date is but we definitely want to have it available for leasing ... by the fall of 2018,” he said.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 4:03 PM with the headline "Construction on major downtown development could start this year."