MACON, Ga. — A decision on whether to allow a planned arts center in downtown Macon is still a few weeks away.
Monday, the county's design review board was supposed to look at plans for the proposed Otis Redding Center for the Arts. Monday morning, the Redding Foundation asked to postpone that meeting. It comes after the Bibb Planning and Zoning Commission released a staff analysis report that questioned the center.
The space where the foundation plans to build the center may just look like any other abandoned lot, but the foundation sees a 9,000 square foot educational space.
Tedrah Ravenell works at Hotel Forty Five's front desk. She's excited for what it could bring to her favorite part of Macon.
"I love downtown Macon. It's a lot of love out here. The music, the ambiance, everything," Ravenell said. "A lot of new restaurants that I absolutely love. A lot's going on, I see a lot of art."
She says it's busy, but not too busy, and it has a lot of history; especially music history. The way she sees it: "The Reddings are pretty much history."
That's why she has a problem with the Macon-Bibb Design Review Board's staff analysis that says the center's main building is not compatible with downtown Macon's historic look. They published a report last week that says, "New constructions should never compete with nearby historic buildings."
Ravenell says since the Reddings are part of history, the design shouldn't matter.
"The fact that they're making this happen is beautiful. I think it'll be perfect. Even if it's fancy, it's the history behind it," Ravenell said.
The foundation says the two-story center will include lab spaces, practice rooms and studio space, all centered around education. Ravenell thinks that could bring some people in to see her at the hotel's front desk.
"We can definitely use the business. This hotel is fairly new. It would definitely bring an addition, especially with the music on first Fridays," she said.
The design review board's next meeting is September 6. That's when they'll decide if this project can move forward, just three days before a scheduled groundbreaking.
Once the review board makes their decision, it goes to the planning and zoning board. They make the final call. The Otis Redding Foundation sent us this statement:
“For nearly 15 years, The Otis Redding Foundation has been working steadily on this lifelong dream. Otis dreamed of a place for the young people in our community to come and be inspired by music and the arts. We want to ensure that this facility will be designed and equipped to meet the needs of our community for decades to come, and we have one chance to get this right. Today, we respectfully asked for the Design Review Board to postpone our meeting until we have a more finalized version of the site plan and renderings for their thorough review.”