Why do some people continue to sleep on DT Augusta? (Atlanta: neighborhood, construction)

[nortonguy]

When I read the comments in diffrent forums, certain people still think DT Augusta looks & feels the same compared to 10 years ago.. I'm not just talking about the people who don't live in Augusta, but even some of the people who live in the suburban counties..

Can people not see the progress & major construction projects?? The new residential construction alone speaks volume..

While our city started late compared to Savannah or Charleston, we've came along way recently..Besides the occasional drunken instance(second video) the CBD is a great place to live work, and play.. The two videos show what an normal day looks like.. The first video features lower Broad street, and the second one is the nightlife..


My City - YouTube

DT Augusta fight - YouTube

[SeaSpur]

You won't take my opinion for what I know it's worth, but this is why (at least as of a year ago):

- there are many businesses that need to close or relocate that don't "fit" downtown and make it look raggedy (wig shops, lawnmower repair shop, odd/old/ghetto/discount clothing stores)

- a lot of the clientele in downtown Augusta at night are "ghetto" or what some may call "urban".

- empty stores look bad and give off a "ghost town" appeal and the distance in between each nightlife establishment is kind of far for the amount of places there are

- darkness. with all of the factors combined above, i just feel like walking around downtown Augusta seems kind of dark and needs more lighting.

all the friends I had come into Augusta to hang out with had the same comment: they didn't feel "safe" and it felt a little "ghetto". now, nothing ever happened to them to make them feel that way- so I just assumed it was what they saw.

these people were living in columbia, charleston, greenville, and asheville.

[nortonguy]

I'm laughing due to the demographics of Columbia, and they're downtown area.. I'll admit Greenville's downtown looks overall much newer, but not Columbia IMO..

Interesting I've never heard anybody use the phrase a little 'ghetto' or felt 'unsafe', even my friends or associates living in Atlanta who didn't even know we had a downtown.. They usually bring up how we need to work on lower Broad, build up the riverfront, etc..

Usually I don't respond to the different opinions made on here.... The other thread was due to you saying Riverglenn and Olde Town were the same neighborhood..

The $3 million Broad street sidewalk, streetlight, and traffic signal project opened in December 2011...

Actually I love how our downtown is diverse considering our size, and not lily white compared to some cities.. Most of the people not from this area automatically bring up this point.. Every non white young person wearing certain clothes isn't ghetto or urban lol..

[Mutiny77]

I actually love the fact that downtown Augusta, particularly Broad Street, doesn't feel all polished and shiny and brand new; it feels more organic and has a very interesting mix of retail and commercial establishments. You have to respect some of those establishments who have been downtown for a long time and held it down when downtown wasn't the place to be. I do agree that lower Broad needs some new investment and hopefully that will be coming sooner rather than later. I also agree that lighting could be better and maybe the sidewalks could use some upgrading. I think there should also be more ways explored to connect the river with downtown as a whole. But overall, I do like the "feel" of downtown Augusta. It's like a traditional CBD and a "cool" neighborhood district (e.g., Little Five Points in ATL, the Vista in Columbia, etc.) all in one.

[SeaSpur]

I will admit that 5 Points in Columbia has gone WAY down in the past 4-5 years. It has become totally ghetto and a lot of people have migrated to the Vista because of it.

Apparently a lot of black clubs on the outskirts of Columbia have been shut down by the CPD and they have come to 5 Points. They just stand around and loiter...contribute nothing except make people feel unsafe and cause trouble. You have to walk through crowds of them and "part" them just to get around...it is pathetic. Fortunately, you can get away from them by doing one thing they aren't- entering a bar and spend money.

Looks-wise though, 5 Points is still light years ahead of Augusta. Everything appears to be "open", it is well lit, everything seems to be in walking distance and is distinct, and there aren't weird random stores or closed down raggedy buildings to pass by. As a patron, you can at least walk into pretty much every bar and not feel uncomfortable...can't say the same for Augusta and the "clubs". If you have to advertise a strict dress code and that "security is tight"...then you have a problem.

Augusta isn't a good comparison to Columbia just because of the type of people that visit the establishments. That won't change and will remain in Columbia's favor due to USC students and the alumni in the area.

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by SeaSpur

I will admit that 5 Points in Columbia has gone WAY down in the past 4-5 years. It has become totally ghetto and a lot of people have migrated to the Vista because of it.

Apparently a lot of black clubs on the outskirts of Columbia have been shut down by the CPD and they have come to 5 Points. They just stand around and loiter...contribute nothing except make people feel unsafe and cause trouble. You have to walk through crowds of them and "part" them just to get around...it is pathetic. Fortunately, you can get away from them by doing one thing they aren't- entering a bar and spend money.

Looks-wise though, 5 Points is still light years ahead of Augusta. Everything appears to be "open", it is well lit, everything seems to be in walking distance and is distinct, and there aren't weird random stores or closed down raggedy buildings to pass by. As a patron, you can at least walk into pretty much every bar and not feel uncomfortable...can't say the same for Augusta and the "clubs". If you have to advertise a strict dress code and that "security is tight"...then you have a problem.

Augusta isn't a good comparison to Columbia just because of the type of people that visit the establishments. That won't change and will remain in Columbia's favor due to USC students and the alumni in the area.

Can you name any of these clubs DT?? There were zero homicides in the CBD last year..

[803Swimmer]

Nort, I find it VERY interesting that you would choose to post a video, titled 'DT Augusta FIGHT' nonetheless, of a bunch of drunk bufoons arguing with one another to showcase the 'nightlife' of downtown. Why would anyone, after seeing this video, want to partake in the Augusta 'nightlife' if this is what it typically entails? HA-HA-HA

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by SeaSpur

I will admit that 5 Points in Columbia has gone WAY down in the past 4-5 years. It has become totally ghetto and a lot of people have migrated to the Vista because of it.

Apparently a lot of black clubs on the outskirts of Columbia have been shut down by the CPD and they have come to 5 Points. They just stand around and loiter...contribute nothing except make people feel unsafe and cause trouble. You have to walk through crowds of them and "part" them just to get around...it is pathetic. Fortunately, you can get away from them by doing one thing they aren't- entering a bar and spend money.

I'm not totally in agreement with your assessment of Five Points. There hasn't been a plethora of Black clubs opening in Five Points, nor has there been an increasing "ghetto" element. USC kids still dominate and there's has been more investment in the village. The Vista still draws something of a different crowd than Five Points, although there's some of that "a few Black faces show up and all the White people disperse just because of the Black faces and not due to any particular incidents" phenomenon going on there with a few establishments.

Looks-wise though, 5 Points is still light years ahead of Augusta. Everything appears to be "open", it is well lit, everything seems to be in walking distance and is distinct, and there aren't weird random stores or closed down raggedy buildings to pass by. As a patron, you can at least walk into pretty much every bar and not feel uncomfortable...can't say the same for Augusta and the "clubs". If you have to advertise a strict dress code and that "security is tight"...then you have a problem.

Augusta isn't a good comparison to Columbia just because of the type of people that visit the establishments. That won't change and will remain in Columbia's favor due to USC students and the alumni in the area.

It's not really an apples-to-apples comparison I agree, but is probably the closest comparison I can think of (Columbia). Don't know enough about the other second-tier Georgia peers to compare those with Augusta.

[SeaSpur]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

Can you name any of these clubs DT?? There were zero homicides in the CBD last year..

I didn't say there were any homocides or anything.

I will do a search later on for the names of the places...but that one place "Pure" comes to mind. There is another on the south side of Broad St more towards 7th/6th St area that I can't think of either.

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by 803Swimmer

Nort, I find it VERY interesting that you would choose to post a video, titled 'DT Augusta FIGHT' nonetheless, of a bunch of drunk bufoons arguing with one another to showcase the 'nightlife' of downtown. Why would anyone, after seeing this video, want to partake in the Augusta 'nightlife' if this is what it typically entails? HA-HA-HA

The point was the amount of people along one block of DT, and not the fight itself..

Pure close down for good in the year 2011 I believe.. Pure wanted to be upscale, but they neveer had shootings in the parking lot or anything took place.. They tried to attract the type of crowd the S Bar attracts..