MACON, Ga. — A few years ago, part of the Fort Hawkins neighborhood fell victim to blight. Many houses were boarded up, not maintained, and left abandoned.
The neighborhood is one of Macon's oldest, home of Fort Hawkins, where the city began, and later Bibb Mill. Once the business fell, much of the neighborhood did too.
"Many were vacant for decades, some abandoned since the early 2000s," said Alex Morrison, the executive director of the Urban Development Authority.
This was the case until the Urban Development Authority and Macon Arts Alliance created the Mill Hill Project to redevelop that part of east Macon.
"This was a rare one. It was almost an entire block that we can focus on. That's not always the case," Morrison said. "The main thing is going to turnaround blight is targeted, focus in certain areas to create economic activity."
Their vision is to bring new life to this area of Macon by creating an artist village.
"Macon Arts Alliance is a big believer that the artists in our community can make something out of nothing," said J.R. Olive, project director of the Mill Hill East Macon Arts Village.
Morrison said he hopes this brings growth back to the area and "highlights the fact that it's a wonderful, historic area."
So far, there have been eight restorations.
"You can tell the difference by just looking at the house that's boarded up and the one that isn't," Morrison said. "It's like night and day."
One of their latest projects is a small Victorian home on Hydrolia Street.
The house isn't done yet, but they need to sell some of the restored houses first.
"It sort of replenishes the money that we put into rehabbing them so that money can be put directly back into the projects," Olive said.
They're hopeful more money will go back into these projects.
"Now we're really excited to have the landscaping, maintenance, and marketing, we have some interests in the property," Morrison said. "People can really see the potential we have in this area."
Morrison said the project is a pilot for what Macon-Bibb County can do for blight.
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