Macon to name Third Street block for downtown champion Josh Rogers

A man whose life’s work was making downtown Macon a better place will be remembered for generations to come as a city block is set to be named in his honor. 

Josh Rogers Way will be located on Third Street between Cherry and Poplar streets. The Macon-Bibb County Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to spend up to $500 on signage honoring Rogers, a community leader and transformer of downtown who died suddenly and unexpectedly at age 42 last November. 

A formal dedication ceremony will be announced at a later date, Mayor Lester Miller said.

Rogers was born in Waycross and attended Mercer University, where he fell in love with Macon and graduated in 2005. Rogers went on to work for the Historic Macon Foundation and later NewTown Macon, playing integral roles in the revitalization of downtown. Rogers is survived by his wife and two young children.

Mayor Pro Tem Seth Clark urged all commissioners to vote in support of the measure so that “when Jack and Ellie look back in 5-10 … looking at the work their father did here, they saw that the county represented and supported them when they needed it.”

All commissioners signed on to cosponsor the ordinance.

Arena advances

In other business, the commission approved a company for preconstruction work on a planned sports and events arena at a cost of $675,000. The money will come from the 2025 Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. 

MFA Program Management, the company the commission hired in September to manage and oversee the construction of the new arena, recommended Barton Malow Builders, a family of multiple companies, to work as construction manager at risk.

Sheridan Construction of Macon will partner with Barton Malow on the work. 

“They want to give back to the community as much as possible,” MFA Program Management Senior Project Manager Will Christenbury said of the Barton Marlow group, adding that about 15% of the work will be completed by small local businesses. “That’s about 320 jobs just in construction labor alone. Now, if you look at all the people behind them in administrative roles, it could be 500-plus jobs throughout the process of this arena just here in Macon alone.”

Christenbury also said 15% of the work will be completed by female and minority workers.

Construction of the sports and events arena is set to be complete in 2028 between March and May. The arena’s construction costs have yet to be finalized. The SPLOST, a one-cent sales tax meant to raise $450 million in revenue for the county’s capital projects, was approved by voters in March.