A local developer is formulating plans to renovate the former Macon Hotel building on the Near East Side.
Yhezkel Levi, who has rehabbed a number of residential and commercial buildings in the area, bought the building in February for $45,000, according to the Franklin County Auditor’s website. Located at 377 N. 20th St., it sits across the street from the Mount Vernon Plaza retail center.
Levi recently received approval from the Historic Resources Commission (HRC) to put a new roof on the building and to stabilize its brick exterior, work that he said he hopes to start in the next week or two. That work would be done in advance of applying for historic preservation tax credits from the state.
The HRC has jurisdiction over the building because it is on the Columbus Register of Historic Properties.
“The building was condemned, with heavy water damage inside from being neglected for so many years,” said Levi. “But it has great potential…it used to be a hotel, with a restaurant, and our goal is to get it back – not to a hotel, but with small micro units.”
He said that the units would range from about 375 to 450 square feet and that they would likely be rented to begin with, but could eventually be offered for sale. The restoration would take about a year to complete, he added.
Featured on the Columbus Landmarks Foundation’s Most Endangered Buildings Lists in both 2015 and 2016, the building was constructed in 1888 and housed through the years the Macon Hotel, the Macon Lounge, and Earl Foley’s Billiards Parlor.
As a stopping point for many touring jazz musicians, it served as an anchor of the neighborhood’s lively music scene.
“The King Lincoln District is upcoming,” said Levi. “It’s close to CCAD and to Downtown, Poindexter is coming along, a lot of people are buying and moving in. Long Street is definitely first, but it will be moving to the north, and Mt Vernon Avenue will be number two…we believe the Macon will be instrumental to that change.”