So Much To Do, See, and Live in Downtown Macon

I love Macon. I really, really love Downtown though. This past weekend was First Friday- my evening started off meeting a certain someone at downtown grill before heading up to Thomas Sanders first solo show at Macon Arts Alliance. I have to say it was SO refreshing to see a bunch of people who I don't usually see out downtown out and about. But- first the show.

Thomas is an incredibly talented artist and if you have not made it down there yet you really should make the effort to go.

I saw a ton of people there as usual: Betsy and Keith Fitzgerald, Carey Pickard and Chris Howard, Lauren Benedict, Chloe Meadors, Ansley Morris, Collin Holder, Canaan Marshall, Steven Fulbright and David Quakenbush and more. The night would continue at Tic Toc Room where we ran into Canaan again, and then over to Dovetail where we had what HAD to be the best flippin salmon of my life. No joke yall it was unreal. And Wayne made up a cocktail for me. It had in it Grey Goose, Chambord, Grand Marnier, Creme de Mure garnished with a flamed orange peel- I gotta be honest anytime my drink is lit on fire you've gotten my attention. And I need to ask Roger Riddle about the sides with that salmon: some kind of rice and peas. Off the charts just damn good. 

I was happy to get the chance to catch up with Chloe and Ansley at Dovetail also- I hadn't really seen Chloe since we both joined Junior League and Ansley is an old friend from Stratford, middle school days. (And she had on THE cutest top from The Blue Door Boutique in Columbus.)

Now, as much as I love downtown I have been keeping my eyes open for a place to live down here. It's really difficult to keep track of the different places and possibilities especially with homes owned by a single person or smaller groups along with the "bigger" places. Luckily, there is now livedowntownmacon.com - which makes it SO much easier to find a place to live. I spoke with Kris Hattaway about it as well:

Molly:  Can you tell me, what initiated this website?

Kris: NewTown Macon has had the livedowntownmacon.com website for several years.  In its earliest form, it was a listing of all the rental properties that you could rent in downtown Macon.  So, if you were wanting to live downtown and looking for an apartment, this site would give you all the contact information to call around and see if anything was available.  This past summer we gave the website an overhaul and reworked it to better meet the needs of the potential residents for downtown.  The site still lists all the rental properties in downtown [under Places to Live] which shows that we have a lot of rental properties downtown, but now the main purpose of the site is to list the properties that are available right now! These are under Featured Listings and are highlighted in a rotating box on the home page.

In 2011 we updated a 2008 residential market study that told us we could fill 235 new housing units [houses, lofts, apartments] each year for five years.  Now, that includes rental and owner-occupied units, but the demand is great! NewTown gets call every week of people looking to move downtown.  This website is a great tool to assist people in their downtown living search. 

NewTown is currently managing a $5 million bond fund from the Development Authority of Bibb County - thanks to Bibb County - to provide gap financing for residential projects downtown.  We have used those funds in the Cotton Avenue Lofts that added 6 units to downtown and were rented before completion.  We're also using those funds to assist with the Dannenberg Lofts which will start renting in the first quarter of 2013 adding 69 lofts and three new retail spaces.  The third project the funds are being used for are the Lofts at 401 Cherry Street that will add 20 furnished lofts to downtown.  Our hope is that the Central Georgia community will become accustomed to going to the website to check on availabilities that it will help with filling the new units that are coming online in 2013.

This is a very cool site, it looks like it's open for both private listings as well as larger commercial ones. Do people with properties need to pay to have their properties listed?

On the site you can find listings for apartments in divided houses, lofts above street retail, as well as units in large complexes such as Katherine Court.  The site is currently complimentary to property owners with units in downtown Macon.


About how many people do you reach through this site? How long has it been up?

The newly revamped site has been live since NewTown's Annual Meeting on October 17th.   A complete marketing plan will kick off in January with a focus on March - May, so be on the look out for more to come!


Where do you see the growth of residential space downtown going? Who is your target audience?

Much (if not most) of our street level retail spaces have upstairs floors that are either not being used or are not built our for lofts, but that is the perfect use of that space. NewTown has just entered into our third phase of revitalization for downtown.  With this new phase, we have identified three target blocks where we will focus our work. The first target block is bordered by Cherry, Third, Poplar, and Second.  The second target block is bordered by Poplar, Third, Plum, and Second.  The third target block is bordered by Third, Cherry, MLK, and Poplar. Our strategic plan can be found on our website -  http://www.newtownmacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/NTM_StrategicActionPlan_FINAL.pdf

The lofts that are being built at this time are just the beginning of the influx in residential units downtown.  We expect to see more and more upper floors of our downtown buildings being renovated and used for lofts.

The Volk Study done in 2008 and updated in 2011 tells us that are primary target market is young professionals. The secondary market is empty nesters.

So, as you can tell, there is going to be LOTS of room for all of us who love downtown so much rather soon. And if you can't wait for the new lofts be sure to check out livedowntownmacon.com for all kinds of places available right now.

After all, wouldn't it be nice to be able to walk home after Mulberry Market (I went yesterday!!! LOVE it) or even after an event like Clifford Live! at The Grand Opera House?

Yep- I have one last thing to tell yall about. For anyone who thinks downtown isn't a "family friendly" place you  need to check out the Clifford Live! show- http://www.thegrandmacon.com/clifford-live/. I know I will be taking my kids. They love watching Clifford on PBS and to let them see it up close and personal on stage will be a very special treat for them. I'm super excited to get them introduced to theater early and to go ahead and instill a love for the arts at an early age. They love watching Disney musicals on tv so can you imagine how magical it will be for them to see this in person? 

Oh! And before I forget- be sure to come and see me at the Georgia Bridal Bash this Sunday!! I will be hosting the fashion show and would love to see all of you there. This will be a fantastic event for any lady who is a part of a wedding- and there will be a cigar bar and lounge for the guys. Don't miss it!!! (Remember my friend Tori's wedding I have told yall about? She will be there as well- her wedding was amazing.)

It's going to be amazing! All of this is right here in downtown Macon- if you haven't discovered it I promise it's not too late. There are so many cool things happening right now and in the future.