Issue link: http://maconmagazine.uberflip.com/i/1302805
"WHEN PEOPLE STARTED TIRING OF THE MALL THEY SAID, 'WE SURE WISH WE HAD A WALKABLE, URBAN SPACE WITH WIDE SIDEWALKS.' AND WE DID – DOWNTOWN." -MAYOR ROBERT REICHERT a new river crossing halfway to the next bridge north (Coliseum Drive Bridge) and the next bridge south (Ga. 96 below Kathleen), eliminating some of the hourglass effect that drives all traffic through Baconsfield. Everyone wonders why the traffic at Baconsfield is so bad. It's because four bridges cross the river within about a mile-and-a-quarter of each other – the interstate bridge, Spring Street bridge, Second Street bridge and the Coliseum Drive bridge. The next bridge to the north that's publicly available is in Forsyth, and the next bridge to the south is Ga. 96. So, to cross the river you've got to funnel into one of these four bridges and then fan back out. Middle Georgia's Hub City JG: As you leave office, what do you wish for Macon-Bibb County? MAYOR: I see Macon-Bibb County as the hub city of the Middle Georgia region. That's my elevator speech: A city that offers opportunities not found elsewhere in the region to the same level and extent – higher education, healthcare, sports, entertainment, shopping, dining, housing, career and employment, and the connectivity to access those opportunities, and go back out. Holy mackerel, we've got connectivity. We're blessed and cursed to have I-16 and I-75 come together, and we're on the Fall Line Freeway. A lot of people drive in to Macon daily from other counties and then return home. It's said that our daytime population swells by 30,000 to 40,000 people over our nighttime population of 155,000. Someone asked me recently, "Doesn't it make you mad when you're on Tom Hill Sr. Boulevard and you see someone from River North with a boatload of groceries?" My reply, "Heck no, that's great, because they sprinkle fairy dust all over the cash register with the sales tax they pay and I don't have to send the fire department if their house catches on fire. I don't have to educate their kids or send sheriff's deputies to their house for a domestic dispute or a burglary." And whether it's people traveling to or through Macon for a conference or convention, families spending the night before going to see Mickey Mouse in Orlando, people having dinner and buying goodies while they're here and then hitting the road – it adds to our hotel/motel tax and sales tax collection and that's wonderful. We need to continue to find more and better ways to become the hub city of the Middle Georgia region. That's my wish and hope. And here's another part of that. Housing opportunities are important and we're fortunate to have ample housing stock. There are neighborhoods with homes that are slightly dilapidated and slightly deteriorated that can be revitalized, which gets us back to that walkable, livable area that more people – especially millennials, young people and empty nesters – are moving into. JG: I understand that demand for downtown lofts and apartments exceeds the supply. MAYOR: It does. They've built 650 and we'll have more than 1,000 over the next several years. And just think, 10 years ago no one lived downtown or even went there. Like so many other communities, we got "malled" in the 1970s, which took all four anchor stores out of downtown Macon and literally sucked out the lifeblood to the point there wasn't enough economic activity there to justify tearing anything down to rebuild it. When people started tiring of the mall they said, "We sure wish we had a walkable, urban space with wide sidewalks." And we did – downtown. After Office JG: Without the weight of Macon- Bibb County on your shoulders, how do you see your future? MAYOR: I don't know. I'm not going to retire. I will continue to work. I will probably use my law practice, but I'm not sure whether I go back to Anderson, Walker and Reichert in some former capacity, try to teach local government law or find other ways to use my talents, education and experience. I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm going to have a good time trying to find out. JG: You've been the ringmaster for more than a dozen years. Will it be hard to give up the spotlight – not in an egotistical sense, but as the man in charge? MAYOR: Am I sad to leave the spotlight? No. I'm looking forward to becoming an anonymous citizen again. It's incredible after 13 years how so many people recognize me, not so much my appearance and my face. They know my voice. I was in the grocery store having a casual conversation with the cashier when someone in line behind me said, "That sounds like the mayor." AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020 | maconmagazine.com 53