EDITORIAL: East Macon is no longer forgotten
East Macon has long believed it was the unwanted, illegitimate child of the city. Though the city was birthed on the eastern side of the Ocmulgee River, modern times have not always been kind. These days east Macon can boast of the Macon Coliseum and convention center, Coliseum Hospital, the Ocmulgee National Monument and lately the Marriott Center City Hotel.
But many remember the blight brought on by the urban renewal effort that created the space for those amenities. They also remember the huge textile mill that was a cornerstone of the community. And people watched as the community that bordered the mill dried up, as did the fortunes of the textile industry. No one thought the neighborhood would ever bounce back. Until now.
The Macon Action Plan is a work that encompasses the urban core of the city that has been in the works for more than a year. Input has been gathered from a variety of sources, most notably from the city's residents. Now that the 138-page document — funded by the Knight Foundation and the Peyton Anderson Foundation to the tune of $450,000 — is complete, the work can begin.
No power on earth can wave a magic wand and erase decades of neglect, but the work has to start somewhere. It's starting in east Macon on Clinton Street. More than 20 homes have been purchased with bond money and will be restored and become artists' residences. A fine, old circa 1920 gem of an auditorium will be brought back to life. The area will also sport a park, sidewalks, streetlights and parking areas. The community, after a long nap, is enjoying a lot of activity as an arts community will blossom there.
At the same time, Macon-Bibb has contracted with a firm in Washington to see if it's feasible to build a minor league baseball park in the Bibb Mill area. And that's not all.
Even many longtime residents don't know that Clinton Street turns into Ocmulgee National Park Road, a back entrance to the monument, and with the expansion of the monument and the possible change in designation to national park status, that entrance, someday in the future, could become the main entrance to the national park. The area has easy access to Interstate 16. If the Macon Action Plan is followed, all of the urban core will be a beautiful, walkable area with connectivity to Central City Park, the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail and the rest of downtown.
There is no doubt that the timing for this effort is right, but there is more to it. There is a not-to-subtle difference between this effort and others attempted in the past. This one is being led, for the most part, by a younger, can-do generation of creative professionals who have the knowledge, energy and vision to see this effort through to the end.
They have chosen to live here and raise their families here. They also will attract others like them — and that's a good thing.
This story was originally published October 17, 2015 at 4:54 PM with the headline "EDITORIAL: East Macon is no longer forgotten ."