On Thursday, June 16, local officials including Mayor Lester Miller, Commissioners, and the Historic Macon Foundation held a ceremonial ribbon cutting to officially open the Alexander IV Senior Living Center. 

“This has been a beloved school and facility for a long time, and we knew it was critical to the neighborhood,” said Historic Macon Foundation Executive Director Ethiel Garlington. “We held several public meetings to see what our community wanted for this building, and seeing it come to life today is a big win.”  

The Center is a 90-year-old school building that has been converted to an assisted living center. Groundbreaking for Alexander IV Senior Living Center was held two years ago this month. The old school building, which was on Historic Macon’s first Fading Five list of endangered properties in the county, was converted into a 63-unit assisted living center with public spaces that the community can use. The center also will include a new 19,000-square-foot “memory care” wing, with 25 units, for residents with Alzheimer’s disease. 

“This facility is going to be a great asset to our community,” said Mayor Lester Miller. “It’s even better knowing that we were able to preserve a building that means so much to so many people.” 

 The 28,000-square-foot building, located at 3769 Ridge Ave., was built in 1932. It closed to students in 2008 and was declared surplus property in 2013 before plans coalesced to transform the building, with the help of Piedmont Construction Group. 

 Its distinctive architecture has features reminiscent of an Alpine Mountain village. It quickly became part of the fabric of the Ingleside neighborhood, with residents often using the school’s playground and outdoor basketball court or voting inside the school.