Macon-Bibb County has created a dedicated website to capture in one place all announcements, safety advice, maps, pictures, media coverage, and other information about the implosion of the abandoned hotel downtown happening on January 1, 2025, at 9:00 a.m. The website can now be found at www.maconbibb.us/abandonedhotelimplosion.

People can also get announcements about changes, safety zones, a public forum, and more sent directly to their emails by signing up for The Hub by clicking here and following Macon-Bibb County on Facebook.

“We want to make sure we are letting the public know of every step we’re taking in this process to make sure it is safe for all involved,” says Mayor Lester Miller. “Please sign up for our notifications and check the site regularly.”

Target Contractors – the company hired to manage and coordinate the project – has started talking with the businesses closest to the hotel to introduce themselves, provide early information about the process, and see what questions they may have. They are continuing to meet with public safety officials, department heads, utility companies, and other partners to finalize every detail of the implosion.

For more than a decade, the 16-story Macon hotel in the block bordered by Riverside Drive, First Street, and Walnut Street has been vacant…attracting theft and vandalism, filling with water in lower areas at times, growing mold, and causing other issues that are not part of a rejuvenating, strengthening, and thriving Downtown.

“It was time to recognize that, if that part of Downtown was to benefit as other areas have, we needed to rethink the area and take a more direct role in its future,” says Mayor Lester Miller.

Several groups have tried over the years to bring the property back to life and capitalize on the ongoing and increasing success of Downtown, but none of those plans have come to fruition. The current building has undergone multiple rounds of attempts to renovate it, but there are too many challenges in the outdated design and lack of meeting current fire and safety codes to make renovation viable. There’s also too much damage to the building itself from not being used for so long.

“The ceilings are too low for central heating and air to be installed, the parking deck underneath floods whenever it rains too much, there are large holes in sections of the roof, and so much more,” says Alex Morrison, Executive Director of the Urban Development Authority. “The best path forward is to clear the site and find a developer to build something that will truly move our Downtown forward.”