(Video: Josh Rogers and Dwayne Bass talk about Tyler’s Place Dog Park, a 2010 winner of the Knight Neighborhood Challenge)

Community advocates in Macon, Georgia are gearing up to celebrate the third round of winners for the Knight Neighborhood Challenge, a $3 million community-wide contest funding local ideas that revitalize the city’s historic College Hill neighborhood.  The event is open to the public, and will take place on Thursday, July 21^st at The Lofts at Mercer Village. 

Established as a partnership with the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, the Knight Neighborhood Challenge set out to create an innovative way to engage the community in redeveloping one of Macon’s very first neighborhoods.  The Challenge also complements the Macon College Hill Alliance, a collaboration between local investors and activists to give new economic life to the same area.

Three years later, the initiative has launched innovative ideas ranging from the College Hill Alliance’s project to create an agility course, furniture and sculptures for a local dog park to the restoration of iconic homes inhabited by elderly and disabled residents.

The Knight Neighborhood Challenge has been a great success so far, but none of it could’ve been made possible without the support of the community, which Knight hopes will come celebrate on July 21.

“I’d love for folks to join us, even – and especially – if we don’t know them!” Knight’s Macon Program Director, Beverly Blake, said enthusiastically.

Interested?  Send a formal RSVP to the Community Foundation of Central Georgia by July 15^th.