Augusta poised for growth in 2014! (Gordon: land, parking, maps)

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

I think you need to meet some of the people in charge of the city's future like Dr. Azziz. The $225 million student housing/retail development and $75 million bio-tech park were only mentioned recently. Those two development still don't take up the entire 17 acres of land on the riverfront that GRU now owns(transferred from the state).

But those developments aren't anything extraordinary for a university the size of GRU, which is actually playing catch-up to other comprehensive research universities in the region. Right now, there are a handful of private residential developments geared towards students under construction or planned in downtown Columbia, but that's not going to cause Columbia's growth rate to triple, although they will bring added vitality to downtown. Such developments are a dime a dozen these days, especially research parks with a biotech component. Winston-Salem has an impressive one downtown, but they aren't the second coming of Raleigh--plus they have a much more robust private sector than Augusta.

And the dollar figure associated with developments don't necessarily mean anything in terms of the number of jobs generated and the economic multiplier effect they have.

The construction surrounding the NSA was extremely top secret before it opened and the same perimeters still exist..

Why would a fortune 500 company build a huge campus in a remote part of Columbia County? You selected the third largest county in the metro and the one with the least amount of large employers..

The NSA development itself was no secret and that was the point I was making with respect to a hypothetical Columbia County eco-devo project. That's just not how things work so speculation about some ultra secret project already underway in Augusta that no one knows about is just silly.

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

Uh ... didn't Dr. Azziz just throw Augusta under the bus? LOL!

City leaders want source of Azziz's comment on Augusta population decrease | The Augusta Chronicle

It's already been explained the media reported Dr. Azziz inaccurately. If you lived here then you would have already knew that and wouldn't look stupid posting the older articles..

I'm laughing because you actually thought Dr. Azziz really did throw Augusta under the bus and you failed at bashing Augusta again lol.

Why do you always come into our forum with this NONSENSE every time? The remarks never have anything to do with the actual subject..

What does this have to do with the discussion?

Please stop trying to interject yourself into something you obviously have no idea about...

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

But those developments aren't anything extraordinary for a university the size of GRU, which is actually playing catch-up to other comprehensive research universities in the region. Right now, there are a handful of private residential developments geared towards students under construction or planned in downtown Columbia, but that's not going to cause Columbia's growth rate to triple, although they will bring added vitality to downtown. Such developments are a dime a dozen these days, especially research parks with a biotech component. Winston-Salem has an impressive one downtown, but they aren't the second coming of Raleigh--plus they have a much more robust private sector than Augusta.

And the dollar figure associated with developments don't necessarily mean anything in terms of the number of jobs generated and the economic multiplier effect they have.



The NSA development itself was no secret and that was the point I was making with respect to a hypothetical Columbia County eco-devo project. That's just not how things work so speculation about some ultra secret project already underway in Augusta that no one knows about is just silly.

The entire property is 17 acres total and that's only two of the potential developments on the site.

Absolutely false... Where exactly is the NSA located on Fort Gordon then?

I didn't say that no one knew about some of the projects underway. I don't think it's silly to believe multiple developments exist that you don't know about.

Why do you think the mayor, Dr. Azziz, ARC collaboration, etc would tell the public about every single developments not announced?

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

It's already been explained the media reported Dr. Azziz inaccurately. If you lived here then you would have already knew that and wouldn't look stupid posting the older articles..

I'm laughing because you actually thought Dr. Azziz really did throw Augusta under the bus and you failed at bashing Augusta again lol.

Why do you always come into our forum with this NONSENSE every time? The remarks never have anything to do with the actual subject..

What does this have to do with the discussion?

Please stop trying to interject yourself into something you obviously have no idea about...

WHATEVER!

When Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz referred to a population decline in Augusta, he was talking about young people and not total residents, a senior official said Friday. He should have made that distinction but did not, the official conceded.

Those age categories are “the future lifeline for a university,” Brond said. “That’s really a population that a university cares about.”

Azziz just failed to mention that the decline referred to younger people, Brond said.

Augusta decline was among young people, GRU clarifies | Mobile Augusta

And YOU made the remarks relevant to this topic when you made the statement:

I think you need to meet some of the people in charge of the city's future like Dr. Azizz....

From what I've read in the Augusta forum AND in the Augusta Chronicle in recent days, you're one of the few people with anything good to say about the man. It certainly doesn't sound like he's got Augusta's best interest at heart -- or has much faith in the city -- when he's complaining to the Board of Regents about the declining college-age population of the city.

[Newsboy]

From the Augusta Chronicle editorial:

We’re disappointed, though not surprised, that Dr. Azziz would seemingly go out of his way to downplay Augusta’s
dynamism and potential.

Forget the census and follow the senses | Mobile Augusta

^^^ If this is the man "in charge of Augusta's future" then Augusta is in a lot of trouble.

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

WHATEVER!

When Georgia Regents University President Ricardo Azziz referred to a population decline in Augusta, he was talking about young people and not total residents, a senior official said Friday. He should have made that distinction but did not, the official conceded.

Those age categories are “the future lifeline for a university,” Brond said. “That’s really a population that a university cares about.”

Azziz just failed to mention that the decline referred to younger people, Brond said.

Augusta decline was among young people, GRU clarifies | Mobile Augusta

And YOU made the remarks relevant to this topic when you made the statement:

I think you need to meet some of the people in charge of the city's future like Dr. Azizz....

From what I've read in the Augusta forum AND in the Augusta Chronicle in recent days, you're one of the few people with anything good to say about the man. It certainly doesn't sound like he's got Augusta's best interest at heart -- or has much faith in the city -- when he's complaining to the Board of Regents about the declining college-age population of the city.

Please stop coming into our forum and hijacking threads based on total nonsense..

The Augusta forum is a handful of people and you definitely can't based anything on the comments of a few people in our forum..

What did my comment have to do with the link you provided? How is the link you provided related to Dr. Azziz knowing about future plans that regular citizens don't?

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

From the Augusta Chronicle editorial:

We’re disappointed, though not surprised, that Dr. Azziz would seemingly go out of his way to downplay Augusta’s
dynamism and potential.

Forget the census and follow the senses | Mobile Augusta

^^^ If this is the man "in charge of Augusta's future" then Augusta is in a lot of trouble.

Who is the Chronicle suppose to be?

There's plenty of things were I don't agree with them...

Augusta's definitely not in a lot of trouble because the board of regents are investing more into GRU than any other university in the latest budget.

[Mutiny77]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

The entire property is 17 acres total and that's only two of the potential developments on the site.

This just means that the university has room to expand as it grows--which is a good thing. But still, that in itself doesn't mean much. Again, those projects are simply par for the course for any university GRU's size that's looking to grow.

Absolutely false... Where exactly is the NSA located on Fort Gordon then?

You absolutely missed my point. My point was that the NSA setting up shop in Augusta was no secret; it was all over the news when the announcement was made, and that's the way it works with projects of that size and scope.

I didn't say that no one knew about some of the projects underway. I don't think it's silly to believe multiple developments exist that you don't know about.

Why do you think the mayor, Dr. Azziz, ARC collaboration, etc would tell the public about every single developments not announced?

I'm not saying every single development; nobody would really care about a mom-and-pop operation that recycles packing peanuts which only employs 10 people. But any sizable, high-impact economic development project--the kind that would have Augusta nipping on Raleigh's heels, as you all seem to think is about it happen --would be broadcast far and wide, for obvious reasons. That's just plain common sense and if I have to explain the reasons to you, then there's no need to even continue on with this discussion. For starters, if any public monies are affiliated with a project in any way, those things have to be disclosed to the public by law. And these days, this would be case for practically all eco-devo projects since they typically involve incentives of some sort, infrastructure improvements, etc. And certainly this includes anything affiliated with GRU since it is a public institution.

[GRU_Minion]

Originally Posted by nortonguy

Absolutely false... Where exactly is the NSA located on Fort Gordon then?

Was that a serious question? It's clearly marked on maps where it is...

https://maps.google.com/?ll=33.41197...21018&t=h&z=17

[nortonguy]

Originally Posted by GRU_Minion

Was that a serious question? It's clearly marked on maps where it is...

https://maps.google.com/?ll=33.41197...21018&t=h&z=17

The question was very serious and not different from you asking were Home Goods/DSW official before the local media announced it.

The link you provided only shows the general vicinity and nothing else.. If you google the NSA located at Fort Gordon they don't give you any EXACT address.

The address is simply Augusta, GA 30813

You can look it up on google maps now in 2013 but normal citizens can't access the land anywhere close to the site.