We are excited to invite you to the next installment in the story of Downtown Macon. So much has happened since the first Macon Action Plan in 2015 – from new housing and businesses to great events and public space improvements. Now is the time to take Macon to the next level.
MACON ACTION PLAN
What is MAP?
MAP Is the Macon Action Plan – a comprehensive, community-driven, plan that envisions the future of Macon’s Urban Core. The “Urban Core” refers to Downtown Macon and nearby neighborhoods. The urban core is where the City was first established, and it remains a center of employment, entertainment, and institutions, as well as home to a collection of historic and diverse neighborhoods and communities. The urban core is the heart of Macon, which includes Downtown and surrounding intown neighborhoods.
The original Macon Action Plan was funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Peyton Anderson Foundation and approved in October 2015. It summarized a year-long planning process, and because the A in MAP is for Action, the MAP movement began with a running start towards implementing the plan’s recommendations.
Within five years of completing the first plan, Downtown had attracted $5 million in foundation grants and over $400 million of additional public and private investment. MAP’s partners and the Downtown community had implemented 80 percent of the strategies from the original plan! It was time for a refresh!
The Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority [UDA], the City of Macon, and their partners undertook another community-driven planning process, which resulted in the MAP Refresh an update of the original plan, looking at what’s next for Downtown Macon. To jump start implementation of the MAP Refresh, Macon launched a new Downtown Challenge in January 2020 with the generous support of its long-time funders – the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Peyton Anderson Foundation, and the Community Foundation of Central Georgia.
Downtown has truly transformed over the years since the first MAP. Now in 2023, 93% of the strategies from the first two plans have been implemented or are underway; 57% have been fully completed. It is time to think about how to maintain what makes Macon different and unique, and support and strengthen the gains made over the years. We are focusing on determining what steps need to be taken to be authentically Macon as we grow.
A lot has changed since the first MAP
Efforts by Macon-Bibb County elected officials and agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses, institutions, and individual community members, alike, have been turning inspiration into reality, implementing ideas from previous planning efforts and introducing new ideas that the community stands behind.
Plans and data
You can download the plans and accompanying appendices below:
Macon Action Plan
Executive Summary
Appendix 1
Appendix 2
MAP Refresh
MAP XL
Stay in the loop
Have a question or a comment? Email us at: DGibson@maconbibb.us
