The Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission

The Macon-Bibb County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved ordinances Jan. 10 establishing the Beall’s Hill Historic Planning Development District. The Commission’s action is expected to spur well-conceived infill development in the Beall’s Hill neighborhood, where more than 30 percent of the land is vacant. Urban and architectural guidelines produced by Dhiru Thadani and his team at Ayers Saint Gross should enable the Macon neighborhood to obtain a wide variety of housing types and sizes consistent with the local vernacular. Charles Bohl, director of the University of Miami’s Knight Program in Community Building, says the rezoning of the neighborhood “is beyond what we had originally hoped for” when the Knight Fellows conducted a charrette there in November 2001. A seven-acre HOPE VI project in the neighborhood is under construction, with hopes for a December 2005 opening. Two large model homes are being built at the entrance to the neighborhood adjacent to Mercer University, as recommended by Knight Fellow Laurie Volk. A poorly designed vehicular bridge over railroad tracks is being rebuilt — refaced with decorative metal and stonework — to serve as an attractive pedestrian way.