MACON, Ga. — A Bibb County board will take the first official look Monday at plans for Macon's proposed Otis Redding Center for the Arts, but a staff report by the county planning and zoning board says part of the project may clash with its historic downtown Macon setting.
In March, Redding's family announced their plans for the center at Cherry Street and Cotton Avenue.
They plan a ceremonial groundbreaking on Sept. 9, birthday of the Macon musical legend.
The Otis Redding Foundation says the two-story, 9,000-square-foot center will include lab spaces, practice rooms, and studio space. An outdoor amphitheater would host small performances, once or twice a month, for up to 200 people.
Their application to the board says "The new center will be a central destination for children and youth educational programming, songwriting, production, audio engineering, performance and more."
They also say the project would bring new life to a blighted downtown lot.
The site has been vacant since a fire gutted a building next door in 2018.
On Monday, the county's design review board is scheduled to consider a certificate of appropriateness for the project.
The board's staff doesn't recommend whether the project should be approved or rejected, but it said the Redding center's main building is not compatible with Macon's downtown.
"Additions and new constructions should never compete with nearby historic buildings," the staff analysis says. "When that happens, the historic character of the area of the area is compromised...
"It would be an outstanding and highly impressive building in another location, but not in the middle of the historic Central Business District."
In response to the board's concerns, the Otis Redding Foundation Issued this statement:
“We are looking forward to presenting our beautiful Otis Redding Center for the Arts to the Design Review Board,” says Karla Redding-Andrews, Vice President and Executive Director of the Otis Redding Foundation. “Our goal with this project has always been to build upon and enhance the wonderful work that Macon has already done in the Central Business District. We understand and respect the importance of preserving the historic architecture present downtown, and we are also eager to work with the community to breathe new life into an area that has been left undeveloped for many years.”
The board is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. Monday.
The decision would be passed along to the Macon-Bibb Planning and Zoning Board, which could overturn their ruling.