The auditorium, while shrunk by about two thirds after being divided into apartments near an entrance hallway, will still be used as a community center and performance space once AL Miller High School becomes low income housing.

The auditorium, while shrunk by about two thirds after being divided into apartments near an entrance hallway, will still be used as a community center and performance space once AL Miller High School becomes low income housing. / GPB

Macon-Bibb County political leaders got their first look at an old school at the heart of a new housing development Tuesday.

A few members of the Macon-Bibb County Commission and Mayor Robert Reichert toured the still under renovation A.L. Miller High School building. For Commission member and Miller Alumnus Elaine Lucas, the tour brought memories and hopes for what will come once this is low income housing.

"It's going to be a boost for this whole area. A lot of our neighborhoods are in decline and this is one of them," Lucas said.

The County has committed $600,000 for infrastructure improvements in the surrounding neighborhood.

Bibb County Clerk of Commission Janice Ross graduated from Miller the same year as Lucas. She hadn't been back since. The visit jogged her memory.

"Remembering the floors, the principal's office and where you bought school supplies....That was all fun to see again," she said. "It's just a really wonderful old building. And I am so glad they are saving it."

Developers say they plan on having the building fully renovated by early 2017. 

https://youtu.be/nFZZyhUG1YA

See what A.L. Miller looked like when developers first took over.

Support for Health, Education, and Poverty  reporting on GPB Macon comes from the Peyton Anderson Foundation.

The original sign for the principal's office will be kept in the hall of the renovated AL Miller High School.

The original sign for the principal's office will be kept in the hall of the renovated AL Miller High School. / GPB

Janice Ross, Clerk of the Macon-Bibb County Commission hadn't been back to Miller since 1968. The visit brought back memories.

Janice Ross, Clerk of the Macon-Bibb County Commission hadn't been back to Miller since 1968. The visit brought back memories. "Remembering the floors, the principal's office and where you bought school supplies...That was all fun to see again," she said. / GPB

Classrooms are being subdivided into apartments and brought to high standards of energy efficiency.

Classrooms are being subdivided into apartments and brought to high standards of energy efficiency. / GPB

Rubble is hauled away from the partial demolition of the Miller complex following a fire that occurred in 2015.

Rubble is hauled away from the partial demolition of the Miller complex following a fire that occurred in 2015. / GPB

Members of the Macon-Bibb County Commission, Mayor Robert Reichert and others toured the under renovation AL Miller High School building Tuesday.

Members of the Macon-Bibb County Commission, Mayor Robert Reichert and others toured the under renovation AL Miller High School building Tuesday. / GPB

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