The Process: Downtown Macon suffered many years of disinvestment since the 1970s. Our work for the College Hill Corridor – an initiative to connect Mercer University and Downtown Macon – was the initial spark leading Mercer President Bill Underwood to say “I think it’s been the best thing that’s ever happened in Macon.” From this success, the Macon Action Plan was born.
MAP began as an effort to increase activity in the historic downtown and in surrounding neighborhoods. To draw people, we needed to creatively engage folks of all backgrounds and Maconites proved to have no shortage of ideas.
Results: Where to begin?! In the first five years, almost 200 new businesses opened, and 5,000,000 visitors explored downtown Macon. The work led to over $400 million in private investment including public investments in affordable housing, new parks, and a community recreation center among other improvements.
With over 90% of MAP strategies completed or significantly underway, in 2023, we began a new update to leverage the momentum around the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historic Park (hopefully soon to be a National Park) and to establish new connections to the Ocmulgee Heritage River Trail. As a further feather in the cap of our creative local partners, Downtown Macon was named America’s Great American Main Street in 2024!
