Report to the community 2014, via YouTube

How do you create a neighborhood renaissance? With determination, a great framework, committed investors—and most important—people who care about the place they call home and will put their own self-interests aside for the greater good.

The people of College Hill—neighbors, Mercer University, the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, Historic Macon and Macon-Bibb County government—have worked together over the past five years to revitalize the 2-square-mile area between Mercer and historic downtown Macon. We recently marked our shared success with a party that featured music, fellowship and the unveiling of the new College Hill video. We celebrated the fact that the master framework guiding the renaissance is 95 percent complete (some would say 100 percent because the other 5 percent consists of infrastructure improvements to be completed by government). We also celebrated new friendships and partnerships, our diverse and affordable neighborhoods, and mostly, being a part of something truly remarkable: bringing the urban core of Macon back to life.

When we envisioned the College Hill Corridor in 2007, the overarching goal was to attract talented young people to Macon and convince them to make their lives here. They are the future of our city. Little did we know that many of those talented people were right here but hidden in plain sight. The College Hill Corridor Commission and the Knight Neighborhood Challenge helped highlight these everyday leaders, and allowed them to create the future of this place. Now we have a model to share with others, exhibiting how people of good faith, with a solid plan and the desire to improve the community—without worrying about who gets the credit—can make lasting change happen.  

But the work is not complete. The College Hill Alliance will dissolve in late 2015, and our partners at Interface Studios have spent the past six months with us refreshing the College Hill Master Plan. Our neighbors have said they want to continue what works well, but also focus on entrepreneurship, youth and health. We will continue the revitalization of the Beall’s Hill neighborhood, create a new partnership with the Medical Center of Central Georgia and continue to be grateful for our enduring relationship with Mercer University.

And we will be a part of a new effort: planning for the renaissance of Macon’s urban core, including historic downtown, the Ocmulgee National Monument and surrounding neighborhoods, and the Pleasant Hill neighborhood. This exciting new effort will benefit from all the lessons learned along this five-year journey, and it will engage our residents, organizations and institutions in building a strong and growing community in Macon-Bibb. The future is bright, the College Hill Way.

Beverly Blake, Macon, program director at Knight Foundation