Macon-Bibb County to hold forum about hotel implosion

Macon-Bibb County and partners will hold a forum on Thursday, December 19, at 3:30 p.m. in Commission Chambers in City Hall (700 Poplar Street). The forum will give Downtown business owners and residents a chance to learn more about the abandoned hotel (108 First Street) implosion happening on January 1, 2025, at 9:00 a.m.

"This will be a chance for us to go through the plan in more detail with people, provide safety information, and answer questions they may have," says Mayor Lester Miller. "I want to thank Target Contractors for beginning their community outreach efforts almost immediately so they can make sure everything is ready for the big day."

Representatives from Target Contractors began talking with the businesses closest to the hotel several weeks ago to introduce themselves, provide early information about the process, and see what questions they may have.

Target, working with local public safety officials, have defined an Exclusion Zone, the area around the implosion that should not have anyone in it while it's active. (A map of the area is below.) This zone will be in place on January 1, from 6:00 - 11:00 a.m. As law enforcement closes the roads, crews will go through the area to make sure people are not present.

"One of the reasons we picked New Year's Day was because most, if not all, of the businesses will be closed in the area and there is much less traffic at that time," adds Mayor Miller.

For more than a decade, the 16-story Macon hotel in the block bordered by Riverside Drive, First Street, and Walnut Street has been vacant…attracting theft and vandalism, filling with water in lower areas at times, growing mold, and causing other issues that are not part of a rejuvenating, strengthening, and thriving Downtown.

"It was time to recognize that, if that part of Downtown was to benefit as other areas have, we needed to rethink the area and take a more direct role in its future," says Mayor Lester Miller.

Several groups have tried over the years to bring the property back to life and capitalize on the ongoing and increasing success of Downtown, but none of those plans have come to fruition. The current building has undergone multiple rounds of attempts to renovate it, but there are too many challenges in the outdated design and lack of meeting current fire and safety codes to make renovation viable. There's also too much damage to the building itself from not being used for so long.

"The ceilings are too low for central heating and air to be installed, the parking deck underneath floods whenever it rains too much, there are large holes in sections of the roof, and so much more," says Alex Morrison, Executive Director of the Urban Development Authority. "The best path forward is to clear the site and find a developer to build something that will truly move our Downtown forward."

Target Contractors have been meeting with government and utility officials to begin planning for everything that needs to happen to implode the hotel. That includes plans for health and safety, site control, and access, fire safety, dust control, environmental protection, traffic control, site cleanup, debris removal, and noise, shockwave, and vibration control…and more…all to make it as safe as possible.

This demolition and future development are in addition to the future development of the property across Riverside Drive, as well as the Urban Development Authority acquiring the former Macon Health Club and other buildings down First Street. The latter was done for a similar reason as the acquisition of the old hotel: to take a more coordinated approach to rejuvenating several blocks of Downtown, bringing them all back to life. To read more about the future of the other buildings on First Street, including the former Macon Health Club, click here.