County hires architect for convention center, condemns 17 blighted properties

The Macon-Bibb County Commission, during a special meeting Tuesday, unanimously approved hiring an Atlanta-based architectural firm to design a new convention center and hotel.

TVS Design is tasked with drawing up the plans. The convention center and hotel will be located at First and Walnut streets, where an old Hilton was demolished on Jan. 1, 2025. 

The county approved paying the company $1.16 million using interest it earned on federal American Rescue Plan Act money. Documents made public after the meeting show the total budget for the hotel, conference center and parking area is $165.5 million.

Months ago, commissioners visited the site, which is bound on the east by Riverside Drive near where Mercer University is building a new medical school that will also include retail space, student housing, lofts, offices and parking decks. 

“Y’all saw the drawings. This is the company that did those drawings,” Mayor Lester Miller said. “Now we’ve got to move into the architectural phase where they actually do all the plumbing, electrical and all those things … It’s based on a percentage of what the project will be. So, this is something we’ve already done and we’re just now bringing the contract to you.”  

Examples of projects TVS Design lists on its website include the Home Depot Backyard at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, an event pavilion at The Ritz-Carlton in Greensboro, the Duke Energy Plaza in Charlotte and Promenade Central on Peachtree Street in Atlanta. 

After spending a couple of hours in a closed-door meeting, commissioners took a break to hold a public hearing, then reconvened and voted to use powers of eminent domain to condemn 17 properties identified by the county as blighted. 

Eight of those properties are between Houston Avenue and Broadway on the south side of the county. Seven of the properties are located in the Napier Heights neighborhood between U.S. 41 and Interstate 75. Two properties are located near Payne City close to the county’s Brookdale Resource Center off Vineville Avenue. 

All told, the county offered nearly $250,000 to owners of the 17 properties. 

Interim County Attorney Duke Groover read the resolution then called for anyone who was interested in obtaining the properties to speak up.

One man said he was interested in owning all three properties on Duncan Avenue because his nonprofit organization “has invested heavily into that neighborhood already.”

Five people who own properties on the list for condemnation spoke at the hearing. Two said they planned to tear down the homes and build new ones. Three individuals told the commission they plan to renovate the properties.

Groover asked those who expressed interest in the properties to stay after the meeting for a discussion about it.