New Downtown and inner-city Augusta/ North Augusta going to another level (Garden City: new construction) (Columbus: apartment complex, broker)

[nortonguy]

https://www.wjbf.com/news/csra-news/...own/1405117382

Groucho's Deli will be opening at the corner of Broad and 8th Streets. The Columbia-based chain has nearly three dozen locations across the Carolinas. The store is scheduled to open in October, will serve beer and wine and will be open on Sundays.

[Airforceguy]

Augusta commissioners officially go on record when it comes to the future of Lake Olmstead Stadium.

They approved a measure that designates Lake Olmstead as the site for a city amphitheater.

With GreenJackets gone the stadium is no longer needed for baseball.

There are no hard numbers on what it would cost to renovate the ball-park, or whether it would be used. but supporters say the city needs to take advantage of the location.

"I think we just approach it with the will to do it and if we put an honest effort at the end of the day if we think its not the feasible thing to do then we walk away from it right now I think we ought to approach it we cannot continue to say we're going to base our on what other governments decide to do at the end of the day we need to approach this whole heartedly that we can do this," said Commissioner Ben Hasan.

https://www.wjbf.com/news/csra-news/...ium/1417898726

[Airforceguy]

The Woolworth's Building has been sold...

Matt Aitken, a commercial agent with Sherman & Hemstreet, recently brokered the sale of 802 Broad Street in Augusta. The historic 46,688 square foot building was previously occupied by Woolworths department store which was known as one of the original “five and dime” stores. Built in 1939 the store has been vacant since 1991.

The property holds a unique look on the corner of 8th and Broad with its Art Deco architecture lining the front corner, metal windows along the outside of the second story and high ceilings on the first floor.

“There are wide open spaces on the inside and there could easily be a rooftop area. The building has a commercial sized kitchen and high ceilings on the first floor making it ideal for retail, restaurant, or office space. The building has the potential to also house loft apartments” according to Matt Aitken the selling agent. “The possibilities are endless with this building.”

Sherman and Hemstreet Announces the Sale of Historic Woolworths Building - Augusta CEO

[AUGnative]

Wasn't this supposed to become The Augusta Innovation Zone with Rooftop bar that former Mayor Copenhaver was hyping a CPL years ago? I guess it is safe to say that project is dead. Any idea of what if anything is planned for that building? Ownership of vacant downtown buildings changes hands all the time. I will get excited when we see an actual plan for this building backed up by actual money.

[nortonguy]

Southern Salad is now open at 1008 Broad.

Farm to table, Southern Salad style - Metro Spirit

[sshamby]

Originally Posted by AUGnative

Wasn't this supposed to become The Augusta Innovation Zone with Rooftop bar that former Mayor Copenhaver was hyping a CPL years ago? I guess it is safe to say that project is dead. Any idea of what if anything is planned for that building? Ownership of vacant downtown buildings changes hands all the time. I will get excited when we see an actual plan for this building backed up by actual money.

I work for the firm that did the plans for this building, and when they got the numbers back for adding the rooftop bar they quickly ran the other way. People in augusta just don't want to spend the money.

[GRU_Minion]

Originally Posted by sshamby

I work for the firm that did the plans for this building, and when they got the numbers back for adding the rooftop bar they quickly ran the other way. People in augusta just don't want to spend the money.

I would imagine changing a roof from just doing normal roof things (i.e. not supporting a ton of weight) to doing more floor-like things (i.e. a rooftop bar) would be quite expensive. It's a shame they couldn't do that math themselves before proudly proclaiming to the world what they were going to do. Leadership in Augusta has a tendency to announce a lot of things before they've actually done all of their homework, and they never come to fruition.

[Airforceguy]

The venue will reportedly reopen this weekend as a “drinkery” and “beer garden” called Garden City Social, according to Tommy Wafford, co-founder and CEO of MealViewer and now the sole owner of the former music venue. Wafford had co-owned Sky City with George Claussen, Brian Brittingham and Andrew Duke since December, when they bought it from Coco Rubio, Jason Rubio and Eric Kinlaw.

“We wanted to do something that no one’s ever tried here,” Wafford said of the plan to turn Sky City into a social scene for a wide range of people. “We’re still going to have local music from time to time…we wanted it to be uber-local.”

The venue received a significant renovation when its ownership changed hands less than a year ago. Coco Rubio had become well-known as an integral part of what made Sky City the core of the downtown Augusta music scene and a major driver of revitalization of the area. Rubio said in December that he “felt like it was the right time” to sell the venue. Rubio then took over as operations manager at the Miller Theater.

Claussen and Brittingham still plan to open a smaller music venue next to Southbound Smokehouse. The venue has been under construction since last year.

Shuttered Sky City Reopening as Drinkery and Beer Garden - Buzz On BizBuzz On Biz

[sshamby]

Originally Posted by GRU_Minion

I would imagine changing a roof from just doing normal roof things (i.e. not supporting a ton of weight) to doing more floor-like things (i.e. a rooftop bar) would be quite expensive. It's a shame they couldn't do that math themselves before proudly proclaiming to the world what they were going to do. Leadership in Augusta has a tendency to announce a lot of things before they've actually done all of their homework, and they never come to fruition.

This was actually after the Mayor's I-zone project went bust too. Another person stepped up and bought the property and tried to do the same thing, except it was going to be retail on the bottom with a rooftop restaurant.

EDIT: Wanted to add that the I-zone project was just a bunch of political speak

[Airforceguy]

A co-working space, a deli and the city tourism board were the recipients of more than $350,000 in loans and grants approved Monday by the Downtown Development Authority.
The largest award, a $200,000 Georgia Cities Foundation loan, was approved for the SharedSpace co-working development at 901 Greene St. The Atlanta-based company, which operates similar low-cost office space in DeKalb and Cobb counties, is investing $3 million to renovate the former state probation building into a 15,000-square-foot co-op where entrepreneurs can lease anything from a single desk to a small office suite.

SharedSpace, Groucho’s Deli get Downtown Development Authority loans - News - The Augusta Chronicle - Augusta, GA