A major piece of Georgia music history will be at the center of a Macon project aimed at urban renewal and nurturing the present day music scene.

The Allman Brothers Band kicked Southern Rock to life by recording some of their best loved music at Macon's Capricorn Studios, but in recent decades the place fell into decay. Mercer University President Bill Underwood says a partnership between local developers Sierra Development and Mercer will change that.

“What we want to do is put it back to work, not as a museum but as a place where we can cultivate the generations,” Underwood said.

Underwood means generations of new musicians. The plan is to wrap four story loft apartments around the studio. That will be the Lofts At Capricorn. Mercer will renovate Capricorn itself into rehearsal space, a music venue and a bring your own recording gear studio. In a term redolent of the tech industry they are calling the project a “music incubator.” So what will musicians have to bring to the table?

“You'll have to bring yourself, you have to bring your equipment, and to show you're serious we're probably going to charge a very small fee,” Underwood said.

The exact fee will be will be decided later, but Underwood said it would be in the neighborhood of $30. For this to happen, Mercer has to raise an extra $1 million for the studio alone. They hope to get the money raised and the renovations done by the time the loft apartments are built.

Have a look at Capricorn Studios in this live performance by Athens' Packway Handle Band.

Tags: Grant Blankenship, capricorn, Macon, music, allman