Macon on the Way to Main Street Designation

A national program called Main Street Designation is a push for cities with downtown areas to revitalize using a four point strategy: organization, promotion, design, and economic restructuring. Over the past year, the city of Macon has been utilizing all four of these components, now they are waiting for the seal of approval from the state, the final piece of the puzzle.

“The point of Main Street designation is not just to focus on everything that’s going well now, but to look at each block and say how can we improve it,” says Alex Morrison, Executive Director of the Macon-Bibb Urban Development Authority.

Now, another vacant building is being added to the city landscape with the closing of the Georgia Music Hall of Fame.

“It is sad to see the Hall of Fame go, it’s important, and what Main Street will always do is look at things as opportunities and not as hurdles,” says Morrison.

City officials and organizations are seizing opportunities like this one to work even harder toward Main Street Deisgnation.

“It’s like having the good housekeeping seal of approval. It means that we are working together, we are using this four point approach that is tried and true and proven to work to revitalize downtowns,” says Kris Hattaway, Director of Place, NewTown Macon.

One simple way this plan will help with revitalizing the city is new street signs. Design Director for the Main Street Program, Wimberly Treadwell, says new street signs will breathe life into the city.

“We’re going to replace the brown signs in Downtown with something that’s bright and blue and orange and has the logo of First Friday and really says that your in Downtown Macon.”

That’s just one piece of the four-point plan that will happen when the city is a part of Main Street Designation. The official approval from the state should happen by the end of the summer.