Study suggests renovating downtown Macon building into apartments

A company says the best route for a downtown Macon building is to see if investors are interested in turning it into a mixed-family housing development.

The Macon-Bibb County Commission will likely vote next week on paying $20,000 to see if a developer can be found for the Willie C. Hill Government Center Annex. The 62,000-square-foot Cherry Street building is now home to some commercial and government offices.

The county has already spent about $64,000 on the first two phases of the study performed by Jones Lang LaSalle. The County Commission's Operations and Finance Committee approved the $20,000 third phase Tuesday in a 4-1 vote.

Jeremy Adams, with Jones Lang and LaSalle, said the buidling is better suited for residential units instead of commercial. The company's report shows the building could have 56 apartment units along with a small retail space on the ground floor.

Adams and Mayor Robert Reichert said having the company seek investors is the best option because it has connections around the world.

"It's always been my experience that strictly government procurements are straightforward," Adams said. "You're not going to get the type of responses we do when we typically write these."

The building costs about $160,000 a year to operate, and it also has about $1 million in capital needs, said Robert Ryals, director of the Macon-Bibb Facilities Management Department.

Among the tenants are some sheriff's office employees and the planning and zoning department. Plans are underway to move them to other locations.

Commissioner Elaine Lucas voted against the resolution. She said an agency like the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority could see if the building can be developed instead of the county paying Jones Lang LaSalle.

The company's report says that tax credits would be needed to make the project feasible.

To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter@stan_telegraph.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 5:59 PM with the headline "Study suggests renovating downtown Macon building into apartments ."