Summer--the time for holding BBQs, lounging by the pool, and vacationing - but not for College Hill Alliance. While most Mercer University students were off for summer break, progress was made on both Phase III and Phase IV of the Lofts project. The Lofts are residential developments created by the College Hill Alliance and Sierra Development.
Phases I and II of the Lofts consisted of the residential apartments in Mercer Village above the local businesses that call the Village home. Phase III broke ground in November last year and was finished this summer, just in time for incoming students to enjoy the new accommodations. Now, the latest Lofts project is underway on College Street behind the Macon Post Office.
Phase IV of the Lofts at College Hill will contain both a residential and a commercial development, including fusion café Boba Mocha. The residential developments will include 146 one- and two-bedroom apartments with amenities including a 3,800 square foot clubhouse, a water feature and outdoor gathering area with a fire pit, al fresco dining and a complete fitness center with a yoga room. Also included will be a rooftop terrace for the residing students to enjoy picturesque views of the surrounding city.
The commercial development features 12,000 square feet of retail space. According to Jim Daws, president of Sierra Development, talks are in progress to find other retailers whose business would complement the already announced café as well as attract more residents to the neighborhood.
“The Lofts at College Hill is another major step toward fulfilling the College Hill Master Plan,” said Mercer President William D. Underwood. “In less than five years we have been able to attract new residents, recruit new businesses, and improve the aesthetics in the College Hill Corridor through partnerships like the one we have with Sierra Development. It has been a very productive collaboration, and we are grateful to Jim Daws and his partners for helping make the Corridor an even better place to live, work and play.”
Since the start of the College Hill Corridor initiative, a project dedicated to the revitalization of the two-square-mile area that connects Mercer with downtown, more than $91 million in private and public funding have been used toward the Corridor.
“I’m delighted to see this type of living growing in popularity in College Hill and Downtown,” said Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert. “It shows us that people in Macon-Bibb… are looking to live closer to town, where they can more easily get to work, parks, retail and restaurant.”
Lofts Phase IV now underway
