Downtown Macon's skyline could get brighter now that a company plans to reopen the old Ramada Hotel. The 16-story building has been vacant since closing in 2012.
Now, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts said they plan to reopen the former Ramada early next year.
Annette Dominey said she walks past the vacant former hotel almost every single day.
“It’s real big and you can see it starting to decay. You can see cracks in the foundation and mold and vines starting to grow,” said Dominey.
But the Director of the Bibb County Urban Development Authority, Alex Morrison, said it was not always that way. In fact, he said it shares its roots with a famous Miami hotel.
“16-story massive complex built at a time when that was the future of hotels. The same person who did this was the architect of Fountainebleau,” said Morrison.
More than 40 years later, in 2012, Morrison said the hotel's doors closed abruptly.
“They had bookings, they had events booked that night and then just told everybody properties closed and had to send them home,” said Morrison.
But Wyndham Hotels said that will not be the case for much longer.
Their Director of Global Communications, Gabriella Chiera, sent us a statement that said:
"We can confirm that this hotel will be part of the Wyndham brand."
Morrison said this could be huge for downtown Macon.
“To have that ability to have more people getting off the interstate, staying downtown, staying here for conventions, coming and spending three-day weekends in Macon, that could be such a huge economic driver for our community,” said Morrison.
Dominey said she is just ready to see life come back into the building.
“Be a viable use of the land this time,” said Dominey.
Chiera said Wyndham plans to open the hotel in early 2019.