The Urban Development Authority announced its newest idea to revitalize downtown Macon Wednesday night.
They plan to hire a group to develop a master plan, which will include a way to merge existing revitalization efforts such as the Second Street Corridor project, opportunity zones, and tax allocation districts.
"We've got all of the ingredients," says Macon Mayor Robert Reichert. "It's like having flour, sugar, eggs, butter all on the counter. What we need now is the recipe."
The UDA says the plan is to get input from community members and organizations. Leaders want to model the project after the master plan created for the College Hill Corridor.
"We were able to show it to people as a road map for where we were going and what our vision was for the corridor, and we were able to use that master plan to excite investors and as a result of that, nearly $80 million in private investment," says Mercer University President Bill Underwood.
UDA leaders say they hope to start the year-long planning process at the start of 2014. It will be funded by a $450,000 donation from the Peyton Anderson and Knight Foundations.
