On a Friday night in Macon, people dropped by the atrium of the downtown Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, ready to share their ideas on how to revive the city's urban core.

Macon urban developers asked them to write down their ideas and stick them up on a wall where people could map and vote on them. It was part of public engagement to support the Macon Action Plan. Some of these downtown redevelopment ideas aim directly at using the historic buildings and nature of downtown development in Macon. One came from Rachel Hollar live in the downtown lofts: "I'd like to see new energy in the industrial area," she said.

No wonder. Hollar lives in what once was the old Happ Brothers factory building, a place where clothing was made for decades before it closed in the 1980s. The building barely escaped the wrecking ball and eventually the aging structure was rehabilitated and became - the Broadway Lofts.

Historic Redevelopments Surge

In fiscal year 2014 Macon had 35 historic rehabilitation projects receiving state tax breaks that were either in progress or completed. That's more projects than Savannah, even more than Atlanta. But this surge of historic redevelopment is a statewide phenomenon. An August report by the state's Historic Preservation Division reported that $85 million in project investment in fiscal year 2014 were funded; these projects that were being made possible through tax breaks. That's up from about $62 million the previous fiscal year. New historic renovation projects grew from 60 in fiscal year 2013 to 92 in fiscal year 2014.

Carole Moore, who coordinates tax incentives and grants for the division, called the increase dramatic. Moore says that Macon has led this resurgence in historic preservation. One reason: Macon simply has a large number of older unused buildings. But, she said, leadership in Macon-Bibb prompted by the Historic Macon Foundation has worked hard to make developers aware of the tax breaks and credits for rehab projects. And much of that activity is aimed at Macon's urban core.

"History is foundational in the redevelopment of downtown Macon. Not only in the literal sense with our historic buildings but emotionally and psychologically," said Josh Rogers, the president and CEO of NewTown Macon, a non-profit working to coordinate and support the revitalization of downtown. Rogers previously headed up Historic Macon.

Rogers will also admit that it remains a tough sell to get developers to believe that historic rehabilitation makes business sense.

"The biggest obstacle is the default position... the easier position... what seems like the best thing economically is demolition and build new," he said.

Older Building Renovations Are Complex

Current head of the Historic Macon Foundation, Ethiel Garlington said that developers see old building renovations as more complicated.

"And they can be more risky if you don't know what you're doing. So a lot of people avoid them because its easier," he said.

It's still a tough sell to get developers interested in rehabilitation. The efforts are not helped when the historic landmarks that get wide attention are those in conflict with a development - such as the historic Douglass House - or projects with a large legacy that have yet to be renewed, such as the musically historic Capricorn studios.

View This Slideshow Of The Historic Capricorn Studios
Entrepreneurs Need To Be Persuaded To Develop Downtown

But it's not just developers that need convincing. Macon leaders also must aggressively convince entrepreneurs that Macon's downtown isn't old and rundown, but on the upswing and featuring its historic nature. Entrepreneurs like Jeff Kressin who owns the Lazy Dog Growler, a craft beer store. At the start of 2014, he owned a single store in Warner Robins in a suburban retail space.

He wanted to open a second space and first looked at Columbus. Downtown Columbus wasn't an option because another craft beer shop was already there. He was mulling over suburban sites near Columbus. Tha';s when Macon redevelopment leaders caught wind of his interest and suggested downtown.

Kressin's first thought:"My first reaction was: 'Are you kidding me. I haven't heard a lot of good things about downtown Macon'."

But he was willing to look at some spaces in Macon and was given a tour of places downtown. He was intrigued, but remained skeptical and took a number of trips on his own to quiz those who worked downtown. The commercial leasing group he worked with - Southern Pine Plantation - had a couple of options and one of them was a new construction in a suburban mall in North Macon.

Susan Bloodworth, the SPP leasing manager, said Kressin was pulled back to downtown.

"That's where he felt he needed to be," she said.

That's when Kressin was introduced to the Armory Building - a building rich with history in Macon - on Poplar and First streets. It had natural wood floors, heavy tall doors and high ceilings.

"Was I driven specifically to be in an historic building? No" said Kressin.

Instead, the space was a great corner location for a place where he could not only sell the growler refills but also serve patrons cafe-style pints of beer.

"It's got a fantastic venue for sitting out on the patio, a great view,"; he said.

He opened the doors of the new business last month, and now that he's a Macon business owner, he said he sees the need for better marketing of the entire downtown. He is fine with a push to brand Macon as an historic spot.

"If you could somehow give that impression that this is the place you want to come if you want to see the old south. I think people would come," he said. "It's marketing. And things have to begin building."

The state's Carole Moore says Historic Savannah and Historic Augusta are both trying to follow Macon aggressiveness in getting historic rehabillitation tax breaks. They will likely keep an eye on the success of Macon when it comes to re-branding its downtown as one with an eye to the past.

Tags: Georgia Historic Preservation, Macon, downtown Macon, development