Clinite’s mural is the result of a Knight Neighborhood Challenge grant acquired by The Facade Squad, a group which aims to beautify the College Hill Corridor. 

The College Hill Alliance just released its “Report to the Community,” which highlights the progress of the renaissance of the corridor connecting Mercer University with historic downtown Macon. It’s a continuing story of how an idea from four college students has changed life in 2 square miles of our city.

The report details many specifics from 2012 to 2014. The work has been a productive mix of private and public commitment fueled by investments of time and money from businesses, foundations, individuals and nonprofits. It’s led to the growth of economic opportunity and renewal of the neighborhood, while filling our parks and streets with music and parades and more. It’s become a global example of community progress, receiving two awards from the International Economic Development Council last fall.

But none of this could have happened without the commitment of the people of Macon.

The College Hill revitalization began with four Mercer students in 2007. Their idea grew with the encouragement of Bill Underwood, Mercer’s president, and we learned that a shared vision is the catalyst for making any idea work. Throughout the years, we’ve also learned that you have to believe in your idea, and stay true to the vision. And, most importantly, you have to act. Through good times and bad, action—based upon the shared vision and guided by a comprehensive master plan—is the key to success.

We’ve learned that there are three critical components that keep the momentum alive:

• Creating enduring partnerships: Knight’s partnerships with Mercer University, city of Macon, Macon Housing Authority, Historic Macon Foundation, the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, our neighborhood associations and others have built strong ties that will endure. None of us can do this work alone, but together, there is nothing we can’t accomplish.
• Creating new leaders: The Knight Neighborhood Challenge has proved that Macon, like any community, has strong leaders hidden in plain sight. The contest’s tag line is “Dream It. Do It,” and that has been so true. New leaders have emerged, fueled by grants as small as $450, to make their visions for the corridor a reality, including art in public spaces, community dinners that bring together people from different backgrounds and playgrounds for people and pets. Many of these volunteers are now joining municipal leaders in taking our community forward. For if we want to attract and retain talent, we must give talented people the opportunity to lead. College Hill has done that.
• Creating the catalyst for private investment: Private investment is critical to any community’s placemaking. Knight and Mercer have been social venture capitalists, leading by example. As a result, more than $78 million of private investment in the built environment has occurred in the past five years. This is the first private capital investment in the area for a generation.

And we’re not done. The College Hill Alliance is mapping more ideas from people in the community to help build a framework for sustaining our progress and planning a way forward. We’re examining ways of encouraging entrepreneurship and ensuring that innovation thrives.

Our community succeeds only when we focus on attracting and retaining talent, taking advantage of opportunities that are unique to our community, and creating a sense of place and belonging that make us all proud to call Macon home.

The renaissance isn’t over. Come see it—or be a part of it.

Beverly Blake, Macon program director for Knight Foundation