MACON, Ga. — Downtown Macon is now home to a new boutique hotel.
Tuesday's ribbon cutting brought in more than 100 people to get a sneak peek of this new downtown attraction.
Gary Wheat, President and CEO of Visit Macon says, "Oh, this is amazing! I've been joking with people that I am tempted to work remotely from here now through the pandemic."
Wheat views the new hotel, especially the Hightales rooftop bar, as a place he would like to spend a lot of time.
He thinks people who live in Macon-Bibb and beyond will, too.
"It's a game-changer as far as tourism in Macon-Bibb. We're excited about it because of what it means for not only our overall tourism offering, our inventory of hotel rooms, but what it means for the downtown experience," Wheat said.
Every corner of Hotel Forty Five tells a story about Macon's history. For instance, its name is a reference to the 45 rpm record and Macon's music history. The fine dining restaurant called "Loom" is a tribute to the city's ties to the textile industry.
The hotel also features a coffee bar. Wheat says Tuesday's turnout for the ribbon cutting is a good sign of the traffic to come.
"It's great to see such a crowd at a hotel, especially what we've been through the travel industry over the last few years. There's been some really dark times with what the pandemic has done to our industry. A lot of our counterparts around the country, some of them had to close," Wheat said.
Joe Collier's company Mainsail Lodging & Development helped develop the project. He's most excited about the historic elements of the building, like the fact that it was once a bank.
Now, it has new life, and he says it matches the energy of the growing downtown area.
"The breweries, the restaurants, the nightlife that's happening in Macon -- we are right across the street from the Macon auditorium, so when there's concerts, you can envision that you would come stay the night in the hotel, maybe have dinner and then go to a concert," Collier said..
Ultimately the goal for this hotel, Collier says, "I think for the town of Macon, we would like for this to be a catalyst so people can see, 'Look, this is the kind of project that can happen in Macon,' so we see some more projects, more multifamily coming in, more apartments, more restaurants, more bars, and to draw people to downtown."
"That it will be a hard ticket to come by, and that people will want to stay here all the time, and that it will be sold out a lot," Wheat said.
Hotel Forty Five has 94 rooms across 11 floors. It opens to the public February 1.