Groundbreaking marks start of Macon park improvement project. See what’s planned

A ceremonial groundbreaking Tuesday marked the start of the Cliffview Lake Park improvement project, an effort expected to bring a new pavilion, trails, docks and a road resurfacing to the area of Cliffview Drive and Bacon Street.

The project is part of a larger strategy to strengthen and improve the neighborhood around Houston Avenue, according to Macon-Bibb County officials.

In the past year, Macon-Bibb has opened the new Frankie E. Lewis Park which includes a playground, pavilion, trail, and basketball courts which replaced several blighted structures that were previously there.

The new Cliffview Lake Park improvement project will provide the community a place to fish, walk trails through the woods, and more, city officials say. Both projects are funded by the voter-approved Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax, according to officials.

The focus on the area is a joint effort by Macon-Bibb County and its departments, private contractors, First Choice Primary Care, Macon Area Habitat for Humanity, and more.

Mayor Lester Miller said more than 150 blighted structures have been removed around Houston Avenue – and more than 700 from the entire county – in just a little more than three years as part of the city’s “Blight Fight” initiative.

“The Blight Fight is about more than just demolition - it’s about strengthening neighborhoods, which is why we’re investing in major improvement projects like Cliffview Lake Park,” said Miller.

Miller said First Choice Primary Care – thanks to investments from Macon-Bibb’s American Rescue Plan funds, the Peyton Anderson Foundation, and more – is opening a health care facility and pharmacy nearby to better serve families in the area.

Paul Bronson, county commissioner of District 2 where the Cliffview Park improvements are being made, said these improvements and projects are just the beginning to a better future for the residents in south Macon.

“Just think, soon we will have an area where fathers can come out and fish with their sons, mothers can take bike rides with their daughters, and students from local schools can come out and conduct science projects. And families can enjoy the shade under the pavilion while listening to the sweet sounds of nature,” he said. “And with the beautiful trails, bike routes, health care facilities - we are able now to strengthen our young people, empower our families, and move this area of the district in the right direction.”

Miller said an additional $500,000 in American Rescue Plan money – which was matched by the Peyton Anderson Foundation – was provided to Habitat for Humanity to take the newly created empty lots in nearby Lynmore Estates, build new homes, and help families become homeowners.

The mortgage payments from those homes will create a revolving fund that would help build new homes for many years to come, he says.

“We must leverage all of our resources in our neighborhoods to truly address the needs of our friends and families because it doesn’t matter which side of the county we live in, what happens to one of us - happens to all of us,” he said. “We are all in this together.”

The groundbreaking was held where the new pavilion is being built near Cliffview Drive.