UPDATE: Mercer to move medical school to Riverside Drive

UPDATE (2/27/25):  The Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority (UDA) has approved selling its Riverside Drive property to Mercer University, clearing the way for a major redevelopment that will bring the Mercer University School of Medicine to downtown Macon.

According to a Macon-Bibb County news release, Mercer plans to relocate its medical school to 815 Riverside Drive in a move that’s expected to fuel new development, including hotels, lofts, restaurants and retail space.

Map: Macon-Bibb County

“It is our goal to continue reactivating unused spaces of our urban core, providing people with additional living space, opportunities for continued educations, and more,” UDA Executive Director Alex Morrison said.

Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller said the project will tie in with ongoing work along Riverside Drive, the former hotel site at 108 First Street and the planned East Bank development near the Macon Coliseum.

“Our city along the Ocmulgee River and First Street is about to undergo a major transformation,” Miller said.

Leaders say the project will complement other downtown efforts, including the potential development of a new conference center and hotel at the site of the former First Street hotel.

Mercer President William D. Underwood previously told 41NBC the medical school’s relocation will not only accommodate growth but also serve as a catalyst for further investment in the downtown area.

The UDA began assembling the Riverside Drive property in the early 1990s through partnerships with Macon-Bibb County, the Peyton Anderson Foundation, NewTown Macon, and other organizations. The site was fully assembled in 2011 before being transferred to the UDA for redevelopment.

Morrison said the redevelopment will serve as a key connection between downtown Macon and the Ocmulgee River.

“Development will allow Riverside Drive to become a better gateway for our community and allow the site to be an attractive trailhead for the Ocmulgee Heritage Trail,” Morrison said.

ORIGINAL STORY (2/14/25):

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The Mercer University School of Medicine is prepping for a move to downtown Macon.

The current medical school facility, located at 1550 College Street on Mercer’s campus, opened in 1982. William D. Underwood, the President of Mercer University, says the school needs to be updated and upgraded. Underwood says the investment will be the largest in Mercer’s history.

“A major science facility like a medical school frequently will attract other investment around it,” Underwood said. “And there’s more room downtown for that investment to take place, so we thought it would be a good thing for Macon if we went downtown instead of rebuilding here on campus.”

Underwood says the project will be made possible in large part due to a $5 million grant from the Knight Foundation, and a $10 million grant the Peyton Anderson Foundation, the largest in its history. Gov. Brian Kemp’s (R-Ga.) proposed budget for the year includes $25 million for the project as well. Underwood expects the move will benefit the Macon-Bibb County community as a whole.

“I think that you’ll see retail investment around it,” Underwood said. “You’ll see residential investments, maybe hotels. Maybe some tech industry will develop around it. And we need to be at a place where there’s room for all of that to take place.”