Hawkinsville, Georgia is trying to turn a vacant riverside warehouse into the kind of place that puts a struggling rural downtown back on the map.

The Hawkinsville Downtown Development Authority is accepting proposals to purchase and redevelop the River Market, a 20,000-square-foot warehouse-style building on 0.71 acres at the corner of Broad Street and Houston Street. The authority wants a developer who will adaptively reuse the historic industrial structure, preserving its character while turning it into something that generates economic activity in the heart of town.

The stakes are real for a city of roughly 5,000 people. Pulaski County's median household income sits around $30,000 to $35,000, about half the Georgia average, and the area has shed population and economic activity for decades as agricultural and manufacturing jobs disappeared. Hawkinsville sits along the Ocmulgee River about 45 miles south of Macon, far enough from any major metro that it can't count on spillover growth. What it does have is a historic downtown, a storied harness racing heritage, and buildings like the River Market that carry the physical memory of a once-active river commerce economy.

Warehouse conversions have become a proven tool for small-town revivals across the country, and Georgia's historic tax credit program (25% state credits for qualified rehabilitation) combined with federal credits (20% for certified historic structures) can make projects like this financially workable in markets where new construction wouldn't come close to penciling out. The DDA, which has the authority to acquire and sell property specifically to drive downtown investment, is essentially putting the building in the hands of whoever can do the most with it.

The city has other assets to build on. The historic Opera House and the Hawkinsville Harness Horse Training Facility, one of the few remaining harness racing training facilities in the Southeast, have anchored a modest tourism identity. A revitalized River Market could connect those draws to a more walkable, livable downtown core.

The harder question is whether a developer will see enough upside in a low-income rural market to commit. The DDA's language about finding a "visionary" team suggests they know the right partner may not be the most obvious one. Proposals are being reviewed on an ongoing basis following the February 2026 release of the solicitation.