Here’s how a shift in philosophy spurred downtown Macon redevelopment (Atlanta: apartment, lofts)

[Airforceguy]

The idea behind the loan program came at a time when the philosophy on downtown Macon’s revitalization shifted.

A market study in 2011 found there was a demand for 200 new apartment units per year around downtown. That year only 11 were built, Rogers said.

“We had really spent the past 10 years focusing on storefronts,” Rogers said. “You would walk around an empty downtown and think we need stores in those storefronts.”

The better route was to have more people move downtown and that would lead to more businesses opening.. Last year, there were 159 new apartment lofts that came into the downtown market.

The loft residents spend about bout $15,000 a year on new storefront services, Rogers said.

Now about 75 percent of downtown storefronts are filled. About 50 percent of storefronts were vacant in 2012.

“Turns out the market demand was one story up from the storefronts,” Rogers said. “As the lofts started to fill out, the people who lived in the lofts had money to spend at the storefronts.”

https://www.macon.com/news/local/article226519180.html

[Clayton white guy]

Makes sense: retail needs a market! I am glad the third generation Underground Atlanta redevelopment just south of Five Points here in Downtown Atlanta will also have a sizable residential component. Hopefully the catalyst for FINALLY a successful Underground Atlanta!