$5 Million Knight Grant to Help Revitalize College Hill Corridor
Beverly Blake, Knight Foundation program director for Macon, is
interviewed by a Macon television station after the news conference
announcing the foundation’s $5 milllion grant.
Great things have happened, but even greater things can happen. That was Mercer President William D. Underwood’s prediction in June 2008 when he announced a $250,000 grant to the University from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to create a College Hill Alliance and develop a master plan for revitalizing the corridor between the campus and downtown Macon.
After a year of planning by Interface Studio, award-winning urban designers from Philadelphia, that involved hundreds of Macon leaders and residents along the College Hill Corridor, a business plan and comprehensive master land use plan have been developed that Underwood said will form the basis for “a showcase for the City of Macon.”
Underwood’s prediction at the June 2008 announcement was realized almost a year to the day later when a $5 million Knight Foundation grant — its largest ever for Macon — was announced at a Mercer Village news conference.
“Today marks a very important milestone for this city,” Underwood said at the news conference. The Knight grant will serve “as the major catalyst for leveraging millions more in private and pubic financing that will create an even more attractive, livable, lively and sustainable residential, recreational and commercial area in the historical and cultural heart of our city.”
The Knight grant includes $3 million for the Community Foundation of Central Georgia to fund residents’ best ideas for reshaping the historic and unique area between Mercer and downtown Macon. The other $2 million was granted to Mercer to form and staff the College Hill Alliance, which will be charged with implementing the corridor master plan, securing additional grant funding, attracting private investment to develop residential and commercial space along the corridor, and creating and marketing events to create a vibe and sense of community in the area. The $2 million portion of the Knight grant also will fund a continuation of the successful Mercer-Knight down payment assistance program, which helps Mercer faculty and staff purchase eligible homes in the surrounding historic districts.
More information about the College Hill Corridor, including video from the June 22 news conference and a downloadable copy of the entire 208-page master plan can be viewed at www.collegehillcorridor.com.