Macon to become a county like no other: Reflecting on 2024

Native Maconites and newcomers alike would tell you that Macon is on the rise, teeming with potential. As a county in the heart of Georgia, it has experienced significant economic growth in recent years.

Strong partnerships are the “secret sauce” to the county’s success in 2024, according to Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Jessica Walden.

Collaboration between the Industrial Authority, VisitMacon, Macon Water Authority, NewTown Macon, Urban Development Authority and the Macon-Bibb County is central to this growth.

“The one thing we’re really getting right, right now, is that we’re singing from the same song book about Macon’s success and Macon’s opportunity,” Walden said. “It hasn’t always been that way.”

Growth and new attractions

The Macon community witnessed the launch of several new attractions in 2024 such as the 10,000-seat Atrium Health Amphitheater built near the Macon Mall.

After two years of construction, the new venue opened this spring and brought musical artists such as Lauren Daigle, Jason Aldean and The Black Crowes to town. 

Increased occupancy in hotels aligned with show dates at the amphitheater, according  to VisitMacon President and CEO Gary Wheat, and out-of-state visitation numbers reached the double digits for seven of the 17 shows. 

The world’s largest indoor pickleball facility also opened in the Macon Mall — Rhythm and Rally — a 150,000-square-foot space with 32 courts for pickleball lovers, leagues, tournaments and classes. 

The recent numbers reflect Macon’s ever growing visitor appeal and efforts to breathe life back into once vibrant community spaces.  

A nine-month survey revealed a 6% improvement in Macon’s hotel revenue compared to the previous year, Wheat said.

Macon has also garnered national recognition. Earlier this month, ABC News featured the annual Macon Christmas Light Extravaganza on its evening broadcast with David Muir, attracting attention from folks across the country. 

NewTown Macon won the 2024 Great American Main Street Award on behalf of the county. The award recognizes recent preservation and revitalization efforts and Macon’s overall growth in the last few decades. The Main Street Award acknowledges Macon’s $1 billion public and private reinvestment, 171 new businesses and 109 rehabilitated buildings. 

“If you create a place people want to visit, then you create a place people want to move to, open a business, move industry,” Wheat told The Melody.

Folks can expect to see even more opportunities coming to Macon in 2025, such as the opening of the Otis Redding Center for the Arts on Cotton Avenue and the Southern food chain Flying Biscuit Cafe in downtown Macon.

Industrial development

Macon made significant strides in industrial development this year as well. 

Irving Tissue celebrated its fifth year in Macon by announcing a $600 million expansion of its existing factory by south Macon’s Sofkee Industrial Park.

The expansion includes a new automated warehouse, equipment and an increased product output of 50%. The expansion will also open up 100 more jobs in the area. 

Irving has brought a total of $1.5 billion of private investment to the city and more than 500 jobs, Macon-Bibb County Industrial Authority Executive Director Stephen Adams told The Melody. 

The company, which won the Macon Greater Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Industry of the Year Award, has “set the bar” for other companies which Macon hopes to attract, Adams said. 

2024 also marked YKK’s, 50th anniversary in Macon. The world’s largest zipper manufacturer first opened a factory in Ocmulgee East Industrial Park in 1974.

“We can show that the industries who have chosen Macon continue to choose Macon,” Adams said, noting how this year’s two milestones have validated the city’s ability to foster industrial growth. 

Looking at what’s in store for 2025, Adams expressed interest in building more connections between the education sector and careers in the manufacturing industry by strengthening the industrial authority’s partnership with the board of education. 

Walden echoed a similar focus for the chamber of commerce, which hosted a teachers’ welcome reception this year in order to highlight the education community in Macon. 

The chamber also hosted a Suppliers Diversity Summit for the second year earlier this October. The summit brought minority, veteran and women-owned businesses to the table and focused on connecting them with larger corporations. Southern Company and Atrium Health representatives engaged with business owners in attendance. 

“We know that the big industries look for how we treat our smallest businesses,” Walden said on the importance of supporting the development of local business.

With programming such as the diversity summit, engagement in the Chamber of Commerce has doubled since 2022, she said, which means businesses are connecting with other investors, attending programs and investing in the chamber itself. 

In the new year, Walden said the chamber will continue pursuing diversity and equity and its overarching goal of achieving a low-cost of living and high quality of life for Macon residents and business owners.

Looking towards Macon’s future

With high hopes for what’s to come in the new year, Macon’s economic development leaders — like Walden, Adams and Wheat — expect the county’s momentum to continue building up in 2025.

Macon is moving from potential to reality in becoming a place like no other in the Southeast, according to Walden, who credited the vision of late NewTown President and CEO Josh Rogers.

Moving forward, she emphasized the need to hone in on Macon’s self-esteem as a mid-sized county.

“We’re unapologetic about the fact we want a national park in our backyard,” Walden said.

With the potential of Georgia’s first national park on the horizon, folks at VisitMacon have begun envisioning what such a development will mean for the city’s growing visitorship. 

Additional visitors and an influx of tourism means looking at the development of new hotels, campgrounds and RV parks, Wheat explained.

As 2024 comes to a close, the Macon community has a lot to celebrate, and possibly even more to look forward to in the new year. 

Everything accomplished in 2024 has contributed to the overall aim of “building our destination,” Wheat said, and the county will continue to do so in 2025. 

“With everybody in our community pulling in that same, unified direction, we are actually going to see the fruits of those labors,” he said. “We’ve seen it this year, we’ll see it next year.”