Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1302793
WORKING WORLD Treadwell passed the licensure exam but never aspired to own a nursery and thought landscape construction was incompatible with the family life she envisioned. So, when a job opened at Planning & Zoning (P&Z), she made the leap. ere she completed a hefty list of projects, including a small patio on Coleman Hill and Intown lighting, a strategic element in the revitalization of Macon's historic neighborhoods. "People feared Macon would tear down its heritage," she says, and so she was tasked with crafting historic designations for Pleasant Hill and Cherokee Heights, and writing the regulations for Macon's historic ordinance, which she's quick to add, "with lots of help." After two years at P&Z, Treadwell accepted a surprising offer to join fledgling Charter Medical as a draftsman in its new architectural construction division. With Charter's purchase of medical/surgical hospitals and determination to speedily open psychiatric hospitals nationwide, as Charter grew, so too did Treadwell's role. What began as site development on Charter's upswing led to packaging properties for sale during the corporation's collapse. A torrent of firings ensued – Treadwell among them. But when the company implored her to return for an additional year to complete reports and assessments, she agreed. While at P&Z, she had casually met Mark Treadwell, a Mercer University law student, now a federal judge. ey dated for several years, married during her stint at Charter and eventually had two sons, omas and John. Post-Charter, with a husband and two young boys, Treadwell thought the timing was perfect to become a stay-at-home mom and help people with their yards, an extension of the gratis work she had performed for friends for years. at notion lasted about six months as her list of private and corporate clients grew, including her alma mater, Stratford Academy, for whom she had been designing projects since her UGA days, and Wesleyan College. Treadwell's touch is evident on both campuses in paid and pro bono work. ENHANCING DOWNTOWN By the mid-2000s, downtown revitalization was gaining momentum and NewTown Macon enlisted Treadwell to design and collaborate on a variety of prominent projects beginning with Cherry Street Plaza and fountain. NewTown and the Urban Development Authority hired her to restore and light Macon's neglected downtown alleys — creating pedestrian walkways lit to mall standards — and she spearheaded the transformational Hummingbird courtyard. Treadwell notes that it was, "the first time people began to see the potential of outdoor spaces downtown." Chris Sheridan, chairman of the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority, recalls, "Some of the most fun I've ever had on big projects were collaborations with Wimberly, like Cherry Street Plaza and the downtown alleys. When the plaza bids came in over our budget, she figured out how to dramatically reduce costs and joyously completed part of the work pro bono. And she took downtown's dank, dark alleys and filled them with life." "WHEN IT COMES TO DOWNTOWN PROJECTS, SHE'S OUR FIRST PHONE CALL — THE PERSON WE ALWAYS WANT IN THE ROOM." - JOSH ROGERS 110 maconmagazine.com | JUNE/JULY 2020