EDITORIAL: Restoration will breathe new life into east side

It's a building few residents have seen the inside of in more than 40 years. It has sat — almost unnoticed — on a block where hundreds of cars and trucks pass daily. The nonagenarian Bibb Mill Auditorium used to host every sort of community event when the mill and many of the people who worked there surrounded it. While those days are long gone, a new and brighter era is about to begin. The auditorium's restoration is further evidence that Macon's trajectory — as Kathryn Dennis, executive director of the Community Foundation said is — "vertical."

Tuesday, it was announced that all of the funding has been secured to renovate the auditorium and make it a centerpiece once again of a vibrant and active Mill Hill: East Macon Arts Village, part of the Macon Action Plan. And the beauty of the funding — like the beauty of the old bones that still can be seen in the auditorium — is that it comes from private donations and blight bond funds. A significant amount, $211,000, comes from an anonymous donor.

What will the building be used for? Artists, visual and otherwise, need a place to show and perform their works, and this space will be perfect once finished. It will once again be a jewel — and we would bet — look better than brand new. And it's only the beginning as the rest of the community takes on new life.

This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 9:21 PM with the headline "EDITORIAL: Restoration will breathe new life into east side ."