MACON, Ga. — A leading figure in the development of downtown Macon has died overnight.
Coroner Leon Jones says NewTown Macon President and CEO Josh Rogers died Sunday after a cardiac emergency in downtown Macon.
Rogers worked with the city of Macon before becoming the Executive Director of Historic Macon.
He took the top post at NewTown in 2014 where he's overseen the development of a number of downtown commercial and residential projects.
Jones says Rogers collapsed on Second Street Sunday afternoon. A passerby administered CPR but just after 5 p.m. doctors declared him dead at the hospital.
“Josh Rogers’ outstanding leadership of NewTown Macon has been a major factor in the amazing revitalization of downtown Macon over the past decade,” said Mercer University President William D. Underwood, who chairs NewTown Macon’s Board of Directors. “I am so proud of what he has accomplished. His untimely death is a shock to all of us who knew and worked with him through the years. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Meaghan, his children, Jack and Ellie, and the rest of his family.”
Rogers was 42 years old.