MACON, Ga. — On Clayton Street in Pleasant Hill sits the old site of the Bateman and Wade grocery store.
In 2014, it was shuttered in an illegal gambling sting, which the store's owner would eventually plead guilty to in 2016.
Now, Macon-Bibb County will be tearing down the building as part the county's so-called "Blight Fight."
“It’s been almost 10 years since this store closed its doors and came into disrepair,” Mayor Lester Miller said. “The building is no longer viable or safe for this community, so we need to remove it as part of our – and our partners’ – larger effort to help strengthen the entire area.”
They say the building was donated to the county earlier this month, and the Bibb County Code Enforcement deemed the building was "uninhabitable and unsafe."
But even before that designation, the site has been a sore spot for many in the Vineville and Pleasant Hill areas.
Amid efforts to open a new store at the site, Macon Attorney Lars Anderson told 13WMAZ in 2019 that the site negatively impacted the neighborhood around it. It pulled crime and nuisance to the corner of Rogers Avenue and Clayton Street.
"Viewed in its best light, it was a public nuisance," Anderson said. "Viewed in its worst light, it was basically a haven for crime."
One neighbor said it attracted crime, drugs and loitering.
"We would have drug packets on our lawns every single day," neighbor Jennifer Zimmerman said at the time.
In 2014, dozens of letters were sent to Bibb County Planning and Zoning calling Bateman and Wade "a magnet for drugs", a "gambling parlor", and "a disgrace."
But at the same time, Andrea Cooke – who grew up and now works in Pleasant Hill – said that there is some neighborhood significance to the site.
While she speaks in support of the efforts to tear it down, she notes that Bateman and Wade is nestled between the Vineville and Pleasant Hill neighborhoods and offered a chance to connect these two different communities.
"Bateman & Wade represents so much history in this intersection of two historic neighborhoods, representing a gathering spot for community and connection, and I’m excited to see how this will impact all the families who call this area home,” Cooke said.
However, she said that in tearing the building down, she hopes it will offer new opportunities to better the community.
"This space being cleared could offer a new opportunity for better access to food, better chance for connections, and a better future for the entire community,” Cooke said.
On Wednesday, the county will be holding a press conference discussing the impending teardown of the building. It will take place at the store, located at 2283 Clayton Street, at 9:30 a.m. and streamed on the county's Facebook page.