MACON, Ga. — Wednesday morning officially marks three weeks from Macon-Bibb County's New Year's Day implosion of the old Ramada Hotel.
Neighbors and nearby business owners are talking with Target Contractors about how they will be protected from the blast.
As of Tuesday night, the site at 108 First Street is full of scrap metal and broken windows as crews continue their prep for demolition.
But the structure itself is not the only thing project manager JJ Martin is preparing for blast.
Rev. Cynthia Knapp serves as rector at Christ Episcopal Church on Walnut Street.
"They're trying to do everything they can to mitigate any damage," Knapp said. "He said that the damage or the vibration in the ground would not be any more than a car driving by. And I hope he's right."
Her parish is celebrating its bicentennial anniversary next year.
But until then, they are prepping for another major event right across the way.
"It's a wonderfully vibrant parish ... it's been an exciting time in the church," Knapp said. "With this hotel coming down ... we did meet with JJ, who heads up the contract company that is handling bringing down the hotel. He was very accommodating in terms of if there was anything that we felt needed to happen to protect the building."
Knapp met with Martin last week to discuss safety and protection plans for the church, which stands less than a city block away from the site.
"It's really the air pressure and that dust cloud that will come that is going to be the greatest risk, and so it's the windows we're particularly concerned about," Knapp said. "He did tell us it's not one big explosion, that they have a series of small explosions. He said the debris tends to drop closer to the building and only the dust would come this far."
Knapp says contractors will install exterior covers to protect their stained glass windows, including their Tiffany window on the side closest to the site.
The window is believed to have been created at a Paris art exhibition in the 1850's. It displays an image of Jesus being brought down from the cross.
"It's different from any of the other window styles," Knapp said. "And as Tiffany was, he really changed the concept of what it was to do stained glass windows. Tiffany didn't typically do religious scenes. A lot of churches have Tiffany windows, but they're typically an angel or a nature scene or maybe a person."
Knapp says she will be meeting with the Target team again later this week.
She says contractors agreed to not install safety features until Dec. 31, the Monday between Christmas and New Year's Eve, so the church's services will not be impacted.
"We feel like this is an important step for the community," Knapp said. "We're excited about the vision they have for that space. [Martin] seemed very sincere and we're hopeful that it will be fine."