When the vacant downtown building next to Khristy’s Boutique and Thrift on Jefferson Street collapsed in November from old age and neglect, Mayor Freddie Poindexter said he knew something had to be done.
“When that building came down, and they cleared the property, that’s when our minds really started wondering of things that we could bring to town,” Poindexter told The Dispatch on Thursday. “Because now that lot is clear, there’s nothing there. So we were trying to figure out what (we could) do.”
For Poindexter, the city’s downtown has become a dead space, losing its appeal to broken sidewalks, deteriorating infrastructure and vacant buildings. But through the newly reformed Main Street Macon, the hope is to turn the downtown into a space residents flock to again.
“When I look around town now, everything is so empty, everything is so vacant,” Poindexter said. “You don’t see people moving around town. Back when I was growing up, people were in town (and) they had a reason to go to town. So, what we’re trying to do is give them a reason to come back to town.”
Last year, Poindexter went to his beautification board for a solution, which is where the idea was presented to rejoin Mississippi Main Street Association.
Macon had a Main Street organization from 2001 to 2017, Paige Choat, office manager for Mississippi Main Street Association, wrote in an email to The Dispatch. Poindexter said the city lost its membership because previous leadership was not filing the proper paperwork to maintain it.
After applying and paying the $500 membership fee, Macon was welcomed back under the Mississippi Main Street umbrella in January, and Thursday the newly reformed organization had its first meeting to garner interest and establish committee members.
At the meeting, Poindexter, along with 12 other residents, members of the beautification committee and leaders of local organizations, discussed upcoming plans for the newly reformed group, including projects to revamp downtown’s potted plants, repaint buildings on Jefferson Street and spruce up fire hydrants downtown.
The group, which met for an hour at Blue Truck Coffee, also discussed timelines for initial projects, applying for a higher level of membership with Mississippi Main Street, developing a fee structure for business membership and potential new city policies to facilitate downtown improvements and economic development.
Currently, the group is designated as an associate member, which according to Mississippi Main Street’s website is “a starting place and does not have any requirements, and is perfect for organizations interested in pursuing downtown revitalization.”
For Poindexter, the designation was a way for the organization to get its foot in the door. But to see real growth and local improvements, he would like to apply to become a Network Community ahead of the July 31 application deadline to facilitate developing a full-time Main Street Program. That would allow the organization to hire a part-time director and begin receiving recommendations from Mississippi Main Street on grant funding for projects downtown.
A fresh look
In the meantime, while the group awaits potential sources for grant funding of larger projects like sidewalk replacements, it hopes to get a head start on its beautification efforts, including painting seven buildings on Jefferson Street white and black to create more of a cohesive look to downtown.
Poindexter said none of the projects currently have cost estimates, but the goal is to garner local donations over the next few months to help fund them.
Jeanette Unruh, a member of the city’s beautification committee, said it will be a great step to revitalizing the city’s downtown buildings, several of which are now vacant. Poindexter said of about 20 buildings on Jefferson Street, roughly five currently house businesses.
“We had booming businesses, and people came here to go to them,” Unruh said. “People came from out of town. We had two gift stores that were pharmacies, and people came downtown just to go there because of the things that they offered. And it’s just gone now.”
The group hopes to paint those buildings and downtown fire hydrants as well as revamp downtown planters by the end of the year.
As the group gets the ball rolling with those projects, Unruh believes more of the community will buy in, and it’ll expand to even larger changes and potentially attract new business downtown.
“The priority is just to have businesses that people want,” Unruh said. “That draws people in (like) gift stores, coffee shops, restaurants, just things of that order.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
