What do you think should be done with the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Property (Savannah: section 8, loft)

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by All4Augusta

Ok I'll chime in with a serious post. It's simple Augusta needs businesses. Yes there are stores and rssturants but we need chains downtown that give augustans reasons to go. For example Texas Roadhouse should have located on broad, place a Cheesecake Factory or American deli downtown and allow for other small businesses, nightclubs etc to feed off of that.

Chains have their place, but I think they should be limited in a downtown setting so as to not give off an overly Disney-type feel. A Cheesecake Factory won't locate downtown; they'll go to the mall or a town center-type development most likely. But chains like Mellow Mushroom, Jason's Deli, Wild Wings Cafe, Marble Slab, etc. would work, with the occasional steakhouse like Texas Roadhouse, Outback, or Longhorn. In the midst of attracting such chains though, you have to remember to leave room for independent restaurants that will provide a more local, unique dining experience. They tend to be more memorable and cherished over the long run.

I think the river walk is fine the way it is, it is a very romantic place to go but a million cameras will take away from that. As a result cameras should only be placed at the entrances to the river walk while RC officers conduct physical patrols at night. Another thing is the fact that we have GRU and the DT property that should be developed, bigger isn't always better I agree but in this case bigger needs to happen in order to get the USC UGA GSU (ga southern that is) type feel. For those if you that know me well know that I'm here in Atlanta quite often and I agree we don't need a highway running through dt because It would limit potential expansion for dt. Honestly, and this is only a personal opinion but I feel Augusta needs to fix its governing body 1st before it tries to do anything.

I think removing the levee, although it would literally require an act of Congress, would do wonders in terms of connecting downtown with the river, but that takes the right leadership as you mentioned. And I agree about GRU and downtown highways.

[nortonguy]

I didn't want Texas Roadhouse to come downtown, and we have Mellow Mushroom already. Local amenities like the Sprint Food & Metro Market underway and the restaurant under construction next to the new Farmhaus Burgers are the way to go. The GQ Magazine ran a story on the local restaurant Frog Hollow Tavern on Broad. You could always open a few chain restaurants in the future once the amount of nice/upscale local restaurants is high enough.

IMO, one national retailer would bring more businesses downtown than a chain restaurant. Retail is lacking downtown, and not places to enjoy a good meal.

I wouldn't mind if Publix, Urban Outfitters, GAP, or Target came downtown.

[Mutiny77]

In the short term, I think a Mast General Store would do well on Broad. Mast General Store: Quality Merchandise, Fair Prices and Friendly Service They like locating in historic buildings and have been very popular in every city they've opened, including Greenville and Columbia.

[The Magician]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

Uhhh, actually I am. This tells me that you've probably never even been to downtown Greensboro, yet somehow insinuate that I'm in an altered state of mind for doing so. Downtown Augusta actually has a couple of advantages over downtown Greensboro: it's more historic, more extensive, has more locally-based retail, it's along a river, Broad Street is longer than Elm Street, it has a downtown convention center, Augusta's downtown Marriott has more rooms than Greensboro's, etc. Downtown Greensboro probably only has one structural advantage over downtown Augusta, and that's the fact that it's flanked by two universities, NC A&T and UNC-Greensboro--which it has leveraged to its advantage. Greensboro's major venues are all outside downtown, including NC's largest arena and the Sheraton hotel/Koury convention center, although there are plans to construct a new performing arts venue downtown. They are both similar in that activity is largely confined to the main streets of downtown, but Augusta does have the riverwalk which shifts some activity towards that way. Also, historically Black neighborhoods near the core of both cities have been revitalized/are in the process of revitalization. The fact of the matter is that Greensboro, like some other cities, has accomplished more with less, so there's no reason why Augusta can't make significant strides given all that it has to work with. Furthermore, why do you act like constructing a signature urban park and a ballpark, two proven catalysts for downtown revitalization, are some monumental tasks that can only be accomplished by metro areas of millions of people?

I'm really beginning to think that some of you all have very little experience with the downtowns of other cities outside of Georgia and SC; thus you think that Augusta can't reach its fullest potential because it lacks specific things that those cities do. Some of you also don't appreciate what you already have because you're too busy lamenting what you lack; thus you fail to realize how the existing advantages can play a significant role in getting downtown to the next level.

Are you playing games or what? You do know that a ballpark was slated for the GGHoF site before the 17 acres was given to GRU? You do know that we voted down a new arena and was probably going to vote down a new ballpark? You do know Greenville and Greenboro's ballparks were privately funded? Augusta needs public-private partnerships. Or who is ever behind what ever is trying to be built better have a gimmick. Ofcourse, my favorite example is the TEE. Money for the Tee had been approved long ago (2005), but the city government took so long that the project costs more than doubled. Well, there was a dispute whether or not to build the darn thing. Most folks said the economy was to unstable and the hey days of conventions had passed. That's all we needed to know and so the TEE was about to go down in the Dead Files. At the last moment, some guy named Courtland Douchea comes a long and says that he is going to build a Hyatt and needs plans for the TEE approved. It does and we still don't get a Hyatt. That trick will never work again, I hope. If Augusta only got some help from Bridgestone, MTU, Textron, Ingersolrand, etc. Things would be different.

[nortonguy]

The last arena vote was in 2004, and for the Regency mall site(not downtown). The citizens of Augusta voted for the TEE Center, and the Holiday Inn Express is under construction.

[All4Augusta]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

The last arena vote was in 2004, and for the Regency mall site(not downtown). The citizens of Augusta voted for the TEE Center, and the Holiday Inn Express is under construction.

If I'm not mistaken wasn't the TEE originally proposed to the Augusta community as a convention/arena seating about 4000 people? If so, I believe that is the tee center the people voted on, but was scaled back post approval resulting in what we have down in Augusta now.

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by All4Augusta

If I'm not mistaken wasn't the TEE originally proposed to the Augusta community as a convention/arena seating about 4000 people? If so, I believe that is the tee center the people voted on, but was scaled back post approval resulting in what we have down in Augusta now.

No...

[All4Augusta]

O ok !

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by The Magician

Are you playing games or what? You dh know that a ballpark was slated for the GGHoF site before the 17 acres was given to GRU? You do know that we voted down a new arena and was probably going to vote down a new ballpark? You do know Greenville and Greenboro's ballparks were privately funded? Augusta needs public-private partnerships. Or who is ever behind what ever is trying to be built better have a gimmick. Ofcourse, my favorite example is the TEE. Money for the Tee had been approved long ago (2005), but the city government took so long that the project costs more than doubled. Well, there was a dispute whether or not to build the darn thing. Most folks said the economy was to unstable and the hey days of conventions had passed. That's all we needed to know and so the TEE was about to go down in the Dead Files. At the last moment, some guy named Courtland Douchea comes a long and says that he is going to build a Hyatt and needs plans for the TEE approved. It does and we still don't get a Hyatt. That trick will never work again, I hope. If Augusta only got some help from Bridgestone, MTU, Textron, Ingersolrand, etc. Things would be different.

I explicitly mentioned the importance of public-private partnerships in an eatlier post, as they are typically the means by which such projects get built. So in Augusta's case, the issue isn't that Augusta is an anomaly or downtown is too far from the interstate; it's more about the lack of a corporate base from which these partnerships often stem. That can certainly be a hindrance, but the city will have to leverage the small corporate base that exists and that will take some gumption coming from City Hall. Once again, it all comes back to having the right leadership in place to make things happen. Once that void is filled, I have no doubt that downtown and the city as a whole can reach its fullest potential.

[The Magician]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

I explicitly mentioned the importance of public-private partnerships in an eatlier post, as they are typically the means by which such projects get built. So in Augusta's case, the issue isn't that Augusta is an anomaly or downtown is too far from the interstate; it's more about the lack of a corporate base from which these partnerships often stem. That can certainly be a hindrance, but the city will have to leverage the small corporate base that exists and that will take some gumption coming from City Hall. Once again, it all comes back to having the right leadership in place to make things happen. Once that void is filled, I have no doubt that downtown and the city as a whole can reach its fullest potential.

I agree!