Georgia city implodes abandoned hotel with infamous past

An old Ramada hotel that has been a mainstay in the Macon, Georgia, skyline met its demise on New Year’s Day. 

As reported by The Telegraph, the hotel has struggled to stay booked and was at the center of a murder and an international drug scandal, leaving it with a tarnished reputation. 

The hotel passed through many hands before Macon-Bibb County acquired it in 2023 for $4.3 million. Macon-Bibb County Mayor Lester Miller said during a news conference that the building was immediately slated for demolition because of the whopping $100 million price tag to restore it.

Miller also noted the hotel was hindering development in the area because businesses were hesitant to move in, The Telegraph reports. 

“No one has built to the river because of this property standing here,” Miller said. “It is blighted, dangerous, [and] creates issues for the community.” 

The county imploded the hotel, which involved installing explosives to kick out a structure’s support pillars, causing it to fall inward.

J.J Martin, a senior project manager with Target Contractors, the company hired to demolish the building, tells The Telegraph that implosion is a safer alternative to other demolition processes, which can take longer, release more dust into the air and put nearby buildings at risk.

“It comes straight down,” Martin says. “Gravity pretty much takes care of it.” 

While the county hasn’t announced formal plans for the site yet, Alex Morrison, director of planning and public spaces with Macon-Bibb County, says a more modern hotel or convention space likely will go into the site. The county hopes development could tie into other revitalization efforts downtown and along the Ocmulgee River.

“This has been a landmark property that’s brought people from all over the world to Macon, Georgia, and we imagine it can be that again,” Morrison tells The Telegraph.