MACON, GA. (AP) — One Georgia city is going to celebrate the arrival of 2025 with a big party.
The plan to implode a vacant 16-story hotel at midnight on New Year’s Eve was approved by the Macon-Bibb County Commission on Tuesday.
In a federal bankruptcy case, Macon-Bibb County purchased the hotel last year for $4.5 million. According to local news sources, the city-county decided on Tuesday to pay up to $2.6 million to a demolition company to demolish the structure.
We bought this property in order to demolish it. Lester Miller, Mayor of Macon, told WMAZ-TV.
Elvis was among the visitors to the hotel when it debuted in 1970, but it was never a financial success.
Most famously, in 1991, the hotel was confiscated by the New York Banking Department, which said it was one among the assets involved in a fraud and money-laundering conspiracy connected to the Bank of Credit and Commerce International. The bank was charged with supporting Oliver North’s arms sales with Iran and assisting Saddam Hussein in concealing Iraqi oil earnings.
The hotel on the northern border of downtown Macon, a block from the Ocmulgee River, was last known as the Ramada Plaza. It closed in 2017 and has been abandoned ever since.
Renowned architect Morris Lapidus, who created the Fontainebleau and other hotels on Miami Beach, designed the structure. However, Miller stated that it cannot be renovated and is not structurally stable.
Miller declared, “We’re going to spend a little money to tear that thing down.” However, the thing that will replace that will be 100 times more powerful than what it is now.
Although the city hasn’t made a decision about the land’s usage, the mayor stated that the location might help with a more extensive revitalization of Macon’s waterfront.
However, the demolition must first be managed by the city and the contractor.
The congregation is concerned that any explosion could harm the church’s historic sanctuary, which was constructed in 1851, according to Russ Henry, a member of the vestry that rules Christ Episcopal Church, which is located less than two blocks from the hotel.
Noting that the church has historic stained glass windows and would be commemorating its 200th anniversary next year, Henry said the church did not object to the destruction proposal but encouraged the local government to proceed with caution.
“We would love to have something else there; it’s an eyesore to the entire community,” Henry remarked. On our bicentennial, we simply want to make sure that our church doesn’t get blown up.
Miller stated that he wants to protect local property owners and that they will be approached for talks in the upcoming weeks.
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