The Growth of Downtown and NewTown Macon
By Lacee Getter
Do you remember when your grandparents would tell you stories about the early days of their childhood town or how things have changed throughout the years? Well, 90 year old, Evelyn Peck, a longtime Macon resident, has a lot to say about the changes in her hometown and how downtown used to be when she was younger.
“I remember when we [African Americans] could not go in many restaurants,” Peck said. “We had to go to the side door and we weren’t allowed to go in the front door of many places downtown.”
Peck remembers downtown only offering a limited amount of businesses, services and restaurants.
“We had the Dempsey and the Gratis and all of those hotels, they’re out of business and are no more in Macon,” said Peck.
NewTown Macon, a non-profit organization that’s located on 555 Poplar Street has been at work for over 20 years helping to rebuild and construct the different areas of downtown Macon.
Bethany Rogers, the Director of Business and Real Estate Development at NewTown Macon, shared some of the new projects and constructions that are happening on Poplar and Mulberry Streets.
“As far as real estate projects going on right now, a great one to check out is the one right across the street from us [NewTown Macon location]. They call it the Pop Town Lofts and it’s going to have 4 restaurants,” Rogers said.
Some of the other projects happening are 50 new apartment lofts being built and various business and entertainment venues being constructed for local downtown residents to enjoy.
“It’s mostly millennials who are choosing to move downtown,” Rogers said. “Young professionals who’ve gotten out of school or gotten out of graduate school who want the walkability, they want the entertainment, they want the good food, they want the sense of community also.”
Peck says she wants more construction projects in downtown Macon for young children who live in low income homes or communities. Overall, she feels that Macon has gone through much improvement and changes.
“Macon has grown and I mean all the cities have grown now,” Peck said. “So many things we have accomplished that we did not have when I was a child.”
Both NewTown Macon and other organizations in Macon are continuing to work on the downtown area. There is much to come for Macon’s downtown area and many plans are set to be put in motion for the beginning of next year.
