In this episode, we sit down with Wanzina Jackson, Director of the Economic & Community Development Department, to break down what the department does and how it impacts residents every day.

From working on programs like the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnership to supporting housing, neighborhood revitalization, and community services, the department plays a key role in making sure resources reach the people who need them most.

Jackson shares how the work goes beyond funding, it’s about building stronger neighborhoods, creating opportunities, and improving quality of life across Macon-Bibb.

Listen to the full episode of Macon It to learn more about how this work is shaping our community. You can stream it on Tuesday, April 7, wherever you stream your favorite podcasts!

This year’s theme, “Strengthening Communities: Supporting the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) Programs,” focuses on the impact these federal programs have right here at home.

Through these programs, Macon-Bibb County is able to invest in what matters most—safe and affordable housing, supportive services, and opportunities that help people build more stable futures.

The Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program supports a wide range of efforts aimed at improving quality of life, from housing repairs to essential services for individuals and families. The HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME) focuses specifically on expanding access to affordable housing through building, rehabilitation, and rental assistance.

In 2025 alone, these programs helped hundreds of people across Macon-Bibb County through partnerships with local organizations, including:

• Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Heart of Georgia
• Crisis Line & Safe House of Central Georgia
• Family Advancement Ministries
• Family Counseling Center
• HomeFirst Housing Resource Services
• Macon-Bibb Economic Opportunity Council (Transportation)
• Macon-Bibb Economic & Community Development Department (roofing assistance)
• The Mentors Project of Bibb County
• The Salvation Army, a Georgia Corporation (Macon Corps)
• Mothers Nest, Inc.
• Rebuilding Macon
• River Edge Foundation
• Macon Area Habitat for Humanity
• Goldcoaster Group

But beyond the numbers, this work is about people. It’s about making sure families have a safe place to live, helping neighbors access the resources they need, and creating opportunities for long-term stability. It’s also about the strong partnerships between local government, nonprofits, businesses, and residents that make this work possible.

Throughout the week, Macon-Bibb County will be sharing stories, programs, and behind-the-scenes looks at how this work is happening every day, and how it continues to make a difference across our community. You can follow these posts on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

On Tuesday, April 7, Mayor Lester Miller will present a proclamation to the Economic and Community Development Department, recognizing April 6-10, 2026, as National Community Development Week in Macon-Bibb County. The proclamation will be presented at the Commission Meeting at 6:00 p.m. in Commission Chambers at City Hall (700 Poplar Street).

Located southeast of Atlanta in Macon-Bibb County, the planned facility is designed to host various multipurpose events like minor league hockey, basketball games, high school tournaments, concerts, conferences, trade shows, and more. The new arena will offer a top-tier guest experience, featuring premium seating options like luxury suites, club suites, and loge boxes, as well as modern fan amenities such as clubs, concessions, restrooms, locker rooms, and integrated technologies. Back-of-house and support spaces will ensue the venue functions as a state-of-the-art civic facility, offering performers, event planners, and organizations a great experience.

“This arena won’t be just a venue, it will be a destination and major economic engine that creates opportunities, attracts visitors, and keeps our city competitive for years to come,” said Macon-Bibb Mayor Lester Miller.

As Macon’s entertainment landscape continues to expand with the new Atrium Health Amphitheater and the recently renovated Macon City Auditorium, the new arena is poised to further elevate the region’s growing lineup of elite venues.

“We’re thrilled to partner with Sheridan Construction and bring Barton Malow’s expertise to Macon-Bibb to deliver a top-tier arena. The new venue is set to become a central location in Georgia for sports, entertainment, and community gatherings,” said Barton Malow Office Director Blake Boyd. “This project is an investment in Macon-Bibb County’s future, and we’re excited to support the local community every step of the way.”

Adds Sheridan Construction President + CEO Christy Kovac. “It’s a privilege for our firm to return to Macon’s legacy of entertainment and civic pride, having built the original coliseum 57 years ago. Partnering with Barton Malow on this transformative new arena is both an honor and a responsibility. We believe this project will serve as a powerful economic and tourism engine, attracting visitors, creating opportunities, and enriching the lives of everyone in our community for generations to come.”

Construction is planned to commence in summer 2026, with the project anticipated to reach completion in 2028.

In 2024, Atrium Health Amphitheater and Macon City Auditorium contributed to a historic year for Macon-Bibb, delivering record-breaking attendance, significant economic impact, and a slate of highly successful events that set new benchmarks for the region. Together, they hosted more than 200 events and welcomed over 250,000 attendees across concerts, sports matchups, theater performances, conferences, and trade shows. This exceptional turnout highlights the area’s growing reputation as a cultural and entertainment hub, drawing visitors from more than 100 miles away and beyond.

About Barton Malow
Barton Malow has been living its core purpose of Building Today for a Better Tomorrow: People, Projects, and Communities for more than 100 years. The Barton Malow construction enterprise is comprised of five entities and two partner firms, with team members strategically positioned throughout North America. Barton Malow remains committed to delivering innovative, trust-based solutions that generate long-term value for our partners and the communities we serve.

About Sheridan Construction
Sheridan Construction, established in 1947 and based in Macon, Georgia, is an employee-owned company that excels in commercial construction. The firm manages projects across the state in various market segments, fostering collaboration, integrity, and quality in every relationship. Sheridan has one of Georgia’s most extensive lists of repeat clients, highlighting its unwavering commitment to excellence and community impact.

Coleman Hill is also the site of Bragg Jam’s Second Sunday concert on Sunday, May 12, at 6:00 p.m., and both are inviting the community to come out and celebrate the national recogntion. Playing that night will be BlakPearl, and it promises to be a great night with friends and family. The show is, as always, free!

During the press conference on Friday, Mayor Lester Miller, Georgia Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Christopher Nunn, Dr. Kirby Godsey, Alex Habersham, Anissa Jones, and Josh Rogers spoke about the work to revitalize Downtown and thank all of the partners, government agencies, business owners, and residents that have pulled together in recent years to make it all happen.

“Macon’s success can be attributed to our shared vision for the community,” said Josh Rogers, President & CEO of NewTown Macon. “Through the Macon Action Plan, our community has collectively identified the future we want and we’re building that future together. That’s what sets our revitalization efforts apart from others across the nation and it’s how we’ll continue to ensure Maconites are leading downtown’s revitalization.”

The Great American Main Street Award, given by Main Street America, is the only award in the nation that recognizes communities whose successes serve as a model for comprehensive, preservation-based revitalization efforts in their historic downtowns and commercial corridor districts.

“We are a community that has invested in itself time and time again, prioritizing locals to lead the revitalization of Macon, and always finding new ways to work together to find solutions to the challenges we face,” said Mayor Lester Miller. “That’s how we’ve been able to leverage more than $950 million of public-private investment downtown the last 2 decades: by working as a team.”

To learn more about the award
and to view the full press release, click here.

Ms. Langford was serving as Mistress of Ceremonies for a celebration marking the start of work to plant 79 new trees behind her school. The ceremonial planting was attended by Mayor Lester Miller, Mayor Pro Tem Seth Clark, Dr. Sundra Woodford with the Board of Education and United Way of Central Georgia, Superintendent Dr. Dan Sims, Williams Elementary Principal Dr. Cynthia Jones, and several dozen students.

“This is going to change the look of Williams Elementary School,” Mayor Lester Miller told everyone.

“This is so humbling to see the love you’re showing here in Pleasant Hill,” said Dr. Jones. “Trees and plants provide a natural sanctuary for children to explore, learn, and develop. They teach children important lessons about the environment and sustainability.”

This is the third planting Macon-Bibb has undertaken with partners to begin planting 450 new trees at seven sites in the Historic Pleasant Hill Neighborhood and in East Macon. The first two sites were Jefferson Long Park and Mattie Hubbard Park, which together received 42 trees.

“Driving here, I took the long way through the neighborhood so I could see the progress,” Mayor Pro Tem Clark said, marveling at the 42 new trees in the other two parks and all the ones laid out at the school. “This is a new day for Pleasant Hill. Every person deserves that fresh air and that fresh shade that trees offer, and that’s what’s coming here.”

The other four sites include Linear Park in Pleasant Hill, and Davis Village, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School, and Bicentennial Park in East Macon-Bibb. The seven sites were selected using the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) and the the Tree Equity Score, which scores areas based on 8 different criteria (Tree canopy, building density, income and employment data, race, surface temperature, health, language, and age).

“This work can only be achieved by community engagement…and community partnerships,” Dr. Sundra Woodford with the United Way of Central Georgia and Bibb County Board of Education said. “These trees symbolize hope for a brighter tomorrow, and a reminder of the strength of communit that is deeply rooted in this historic and resilient neighborhood.”

Funding for this planting program comes from a Georgia Forestry Commission’s Trees Across Georgia grant in the amount of $253,150, which includes buying the trees, planting, labor, and maintenance.

“It’s a great day in Macon-Bibb, especially when we can welcome not one, not two, not three, but four families home,” Mayor Lester Miller told them. [Our Blight Fight] “is about more than just tearing down…it’s about putting back together, about building back together. It’s about strengthening neighborhoods one neighborhood at a time, one family at a time, one home at a time.”

“We’re very appreciative and grateful for this opportunity,” said Natasha Calhoun after receiving her keys.

Minnie Simmons followed shortly after, saying, “I am so grateful for the love in our house, so thank you all so much.”

“These homes are all built with so much love, hard work, and a lot of joy and laughter on the jobsite,” said Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Ivey Hall. “So, you all helped turn these four blighted lots into homes for our families that we celebrate today. And thanks to y’all, we’re not stopping with these four homes or this neighborhood.”

Two of the four homes were built as part of a program that is funded with $500,000 each from Macon-Bibb’s American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds and the Peyton Anderson Foundation. The $1 million program is being used to build eight homes, and these were the fourth and fifth of that program. The mortgage payments from those will be used to build even more in the future. The eight homes are being built on properties that had blighted structures on them that were demolished as part of the Blight Fight.

“Macon-Bibb – just like communities across the country – is facing a housing crisis, and we wanted to use our ARP funds to help our local organizations move forward more quickly with more options for people,” says Mayor Miller. “I want to thank the Peyton Anderson Foundation for matching our ARP funds and Habitat for Humanity for taking on this extra work to help people in our neighborhoods.”

Macon Habitat’s mission serves to increase the homeownership rate and stabilize communities by offering safe and affordable housing. Construction for the first eight homes is focused in Lynmore Estates and Napier Heights. The homes will be energy-efficient 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom houses and sold to future homeowners with a 20-year, 0% interest mortgage. In the last 35 years, Macon Habitat has helped 130 families become first-time homeowners and will continue to offer more homeownership opportunities.

Rebuilding homes in neighborhoods is the next step in the county’s ongoing Blight Fight, which has now passed its 710 demolitions. While the county has been removing dangerous and blighted structures, it has provided millions of dollars to several organizations to build new housing options.

In addition to Habitat for Humanity, that includes $3.2 million ($1.6 million each from Macon-Bibb and the Knight Foundation) to NewTown Macon and the Historic Macon Foundation, and $7.5 million as a match for a revolving loan fund that will be used to build even more housing.

“We are working to strengthen our families, our homes, and our neighborhoods as quickly as we can, using many different programs and strategies,” adds Mayor Miller. “Whether it’s using the courts to crack down on centers of crime, providing free mental health support services, improving public safety, or building housing, this work is too important for us to slow down.”

About Macon Area Habitat for Humanity
Macon Area Habitat for Humanity is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry whose goal is the elimination of substandard housing in Macon. Since its inception in 1986, Macon Area Habitat for Humanity has served almost 130 families in the Macon area through invaluable partnerships with area churches, corporations, groups, individuals, nonprofits, and local governments, through the provision of safe, decent, and affordable homeownership.

MAHFH also works in partnership with residents to improve the quality of life in neighborhoods undergoing revitalization and is a persistent advocate, not only for these initiatives but also for the removal of blight and decay in Macon-Bibb. To learn more, visit maconhabitat.org.

“It’s a great day…a new day…thanks to each of you,” Mayor Lester Miller told more than 700 people gathered at the Macon City Auditorium for the annual State of the Community, hosted by the Greater Macon Chamber of Commerce. “Just like you can’t ignore the sunrise and the promise of a new day that it brings, you can’t ignore the progress we’re all making and the impact it will have on our future. “

To watch the the video highlighting the previous year, click here.

The State of the Community is a chance for the Mayor and Chamber and Mayor to look back on the work of the previous year and set the stage for coming projects and improvements. This year, the Mayor focused on making sure the community realizes that it’s our people that make us strong, are the ones making the projects (both big and small) successful, and are creating a new day of opportunity and success for all people.

“You can’t ignore the people of our community. The ones who live here, who call this place home, who raise their families here, who go to events here, who patronize our businesses and restaurants, who help and support others in need,” he said. These are “the people who understand our history. Who know our strength and potential. Who understand our challenges and know the solutions to overcome them. Who know each of us and our shared story, and how we are working together to take advantage of this new day.  

Mayor Miller pointed out the success of many projects that required people to work together as a team, including:

• advancing the chance to have Georgia’s first national park,
• the historic drop in homicide rate thanks to Macon Violence Prevention,
• the revitalization of the Macon Mall around government offices, Rhythm & Rally (the world’s largest indoor pickleball facility), and the already successful Atrium Health Amphitheater.
• three years and 700 demolitions of the Bliht Fight,
• increasing pay and budgets for public safety,
• building new affordable housing,
• major industrial developments,
• the thousands of people served by the Brookdale Resource Center and Macon Mental Health Matters, and,
• significant increase in tourism.

Looking ahead, he announced the beginning of a new facility at the airport, pay raises for all government employees, new developments in East Macon, a full rollout of the Paving the Way program to repair all roads, an increase in sports tourism, and more.

“It’s a new day in Macon because we are betting on US. We are investing in ourselves and our homes. And we are all in,” he announced. “It’s a new day in Macon-Bibb because we’re looking inward…into ourselves and into the people around us, to the people who live here…for solutions to our challenges and to help keep us on the best path forward.”

He thanked the gathered group and public because without their input and support, none of the successes the past year or three years would’ve been possible. The thanked them for caring for their home and being willing to do whatever it takes to make people’s dreams a reality and the impossible, possible.

“These are our lives…our future…and the future for so many children. We are investing in ourselves and each other because we live here. This is our home. We know what’s needed, and we’re strong enough to make it happen. 

To watch the the video highlighting the previous year, click here.

Community Development Block Grant Coronavirus (CDBG-CV)

Macon-Bibb County
Economic & Community Development Department
PROGRAM YEAR 2024 (July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025)

CDBG-CV funding is made possible by the US Department of HUD and is administered by the Local
government, Economic and Community Development Department.

ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
688 Walnut Street, Suite 101
Macon, Georgia 31201
MAIN (478) 751-7190, TDD (478) 803-2306, FAX (478) 910-2347

CDBG Application will be available on October 20, 2023.
http://www.maconbibb.us/economic-community-development/

Deadline for Submission to ECDD, Monday, November 27, 2023, 5:00 p.m.
No facsimile or E-mail submissions will be accepted.