Groundbreaking Ceremony for The Lofts at Mercer
Chris Floore
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WHO: Mercer University, The College Hill Alliance, and Macon-Bibb County
WHAT: Will hold a groundbreaking ceremony for The Lofts at Mercer
WHEN: Wednesday, Feb. 4, 1 p.m.
WHERE: Mercer University Drive, across the street from Mercer University Stadium
WHY: This ceremony will mark the start of construction on the latest student lofts project on Mercer’s Macon campus. Once completed in summer 2016, the complex will include apartment-style housing for 300 students, about 14,000 square feet of first-floor space for University administrative offices and a 400-car parking deck. Additionally, a signature pedestrian bridge over Mercer University Drive is being partly funded by Macon-Bibb County as a component of the Second Street Corridor revitalization project.
The complex is being built by Macon-based commercial development firm Sierra Development, which constructed Phases I, II, and III of The Lofts at Mercer Village as well as The Lofts at College Hill that will open behind the U.S. Post Office on College Street in fall 2015.
In addition to The Lofts at Mercer, a new hotel and restaurants are slated for the block adjacent to the complex, across Mercer University Drive from the Hilton Garden Inn where the former Noland plumbing supply warehouse is located. Details about that new development will be announced at a later date.
When construction of The Lofts at Mercer is complete, more than 800 beds of student housing will have been added to the Macon campus since 2011, with a combined investment of more than $100 million in the five lofts projects and hotel-restaurant development.
About the Second Street Corridor
The Second Street Corridor redevelopment and revitalization project is funded by the voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). Eight million dollars was designated to improve the area that stretches from East Macon through Downtown, connecting to Little Richard Penniman and Mercer University Boulevards, and creating a gateway into Macon at the interchange of Mercer University Boulevard.
Macon-Bibb County recently completed the first major milestone of this project by reopening the block between Cherry and Poplar Streets with improved lighting and sidewalks, landscaping, bike lanes, reverse angle parking, and more. The creation of Mid-City Square, a new park to be located at the intersection of Second and Pine Streets, is currently underway. Additionally, designs are nearing completion for and work will soon begin on the bridge that will connect Second Street with Little Richard Penniman Boulevard. Long-term, Macon-Bibb County wants to extend the Corridor further west along Mercer University Boulevard to the Macon Mall and Middle Georgia State College.
About the College Hill Alliance
Initially established with a grant to Mercer University from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation in 2009, the College Hill Alliance assists the community in creating positive change to the physical, social and economic fabric of the College Hill Corridor, a two-square mile area between Mercer’s campus and Macon, Georgia’s downtown business district. Today, the internationally recognized economic development project has leveraged over $100 million in urban renewal, entrepreneurship, arts, neighborhood growth and entertainment. For more information, contact Jessica Walden at the College Hill Alliance: 478.621.4420 /
jessica@collegehillmacon.com. Visit
collegehillmacon.com.
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,500 students in 12 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing, health professions, and Penfield College of Mercer University – on campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah – and four regional academic centers across the state. The Mercer Health Sciences Center includes the University’s medical, nursing, health professions and pharmacy schools. Mercer is affiliated with four teaching hospitals – Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah; Medical Center, Navicent Health, in Macon; and The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The University also has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program.
www.mercer.edu
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Groundbreaking Ceremony for The Lofts at Mercer
