Residents of East Macon expressed concerns about gentrification at the first community meeting around a planned redevelopment of county-owned property across from the Macon Coliseum.
The East Bank Project is slated for the former Bibb Mill site, which was fully razed years ago.
Now with the long-hoped-for designation of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve on the horizon, and with a continued boom in the heart of downtown Macon just across the river, a public/private partnership has big plans for the space. But first developers and Macon-Bibb County are compiling a master plan for the project beginning with input from everyday people.
In a lunchtime session held in the auditorium of the Mill Hill Arts Center, urban planners and developers from Atlanta presented their broad vision for the site which is otherwise a blank slate: a new hotel, multi-family housing blocks, retail/mixed use buildings, green space and plenty of parking.
East side residents like Wanda Collins-Smith said while it all may sound exciting, even attractive to new Maconites, it is important not to forget the people who have already called the area home.
“You bring out these wonderful things, but we're not a part of it because we can't afford it,” Collins-Smith said. “My concern is that, as I've seen before, they come in and displace the residents when they come into this area.”
Landscape architect Lauren Standish assured Collins-Smith and others that since Macon-Bibb County already owns all the land being considered for the East Bank Project, there was no risk of other homes or properties being targeted by development or for taking through eminent domain.
What’s more, said the developers, once the project was built, nearby residents would likely benefit from rising property values. Cleopatra Simpson said that would be good up to a point but potentially hazardous for older, retired people on fixed incomes.
“Well, okay, sure, your property value goes up," Simpson said. "But guess what goes up with the property value? Your taxes."
Imagine, she said, a retiree accustomed to an annual $2,500 tax bill who, because of rising property values near them, gets a $5,000 tax bill. Who will help them manage that?
“Let's see how we can make it work for everybody. And then if you got to put it on the scale and weigh it up, let's make sure the residents are not the one whose scale is tilted,” Simpson said.
Alex Morrison of the Macon-Bibb Urban Development Authority said this is a conversation his office has been having with east side residents for a long time.
“The main thrust of the Mill Hill project was creating a community land trust that could create a bulwark of affordable housing,” Morrison said.
The Mill Hill land trust is meant to work like this: All the land underlying two streets of renovated mill homes is held under one title even if all the homes atop the land are owned by different people.
When homes are sold, only the structures change hands. The land never does. That should suppress the value of those homes, keeping them affordable. But a search of Bibb County tax records shows the renovated mill homes sometimes have values twice that of homes on neighboring blocks.
But Morrison said there are other tools, too, such as capping property values for seniors in redeveloping neighborhoods. That’s a tool that’s been used in a number of booming Atlanta areas.
“We haven't had the same development pressure, but we know the tools and can utilize them,” Morrison said.
County Commissioner Stanley Stewart, who represents much of East Macon, agreed.
“Municipalities do have an ability to meet citizens a certain way in terms of their taxes,” Stewart said. “That would be something I guess we would have to kind of deal with down at City Hall.”
As the debate died down, session participants were asked to look over photos of the kinds of urban amenities they might like to have if the East Bank Project someday comes together.
Cleopatra Simpson said she heard the developers say if East Bank does jell, it will attract new people and new money. She isn’t focused on that.
“We want to make sure the people who already are here are fine,” Cleopatra Simpson said. “Give us the same consideration.”
After some more conversation and perusing of the charettes, the first session broke for lunch, and to give time to reset for the 6pm session later the same day.
The East Bank master plan is expected to still be coming together well into 2025.
