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Location: Augusta, GA ''The fastest rising city in the southeast''
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutiny77
I'm guessing you're counting everything both announced and initiated constructed in 2018. I already know Columbia had more projects than that; I may compile a list a bit later when I get some time.
What CEO’s are mentioning Columbia in the same breath as Silicon Valley, DC, Austin, or Nova?
“As I look at my investment portfolio for research, I really believe that I can do more research and more things down there. Just the economics of that region is much better than the kind of the challenge that I live in” in northern Virginia, Jungck said. In the Washington, D.C. area, as well as other cyber hubs such as Austin, Texas, and Silicon Valley, the cost of living is so high it is “just unlivable for a family,” he said.
The D.C. corridor and the competition for talent and housing is only likely to get worse as Amazon prepares to put half of its second headquarters, and potentially 25,000 employees, into northern Virginia, Jungck said. Augusta is much more affordable, he said.
Actually the project is in North Augusta and they are very different types of developments. Both feature minor league ballparks as the centerpiece, but North Augusta otherwise has nothing like that greenfield development (situated along the Savannah River) in their urban core and their traditional downtown really isn't anything worth writing home about. It will pretty much be THE star of the show downtown with its only sports venue. Columbia Common, on the other hand, is an infill redevelopment project of the state's former mental health campus consisting of several hundred acres with existing historic buildings--many of which are planned to be rehabbed--as well as vacant plots. It sits adjacent to established neighborhoods in the interior of downtown and will be another node of activity within downtown, along with Main Street and the Vista (and, just a little farther out, Five Points), and has one of three active sports venues downtown along with USC's ballpark and Colonial Life Arena. They really aren't comparable at all other than the fact that the minor league teams that play in their ballparks came from Georgia.
And Columbia Common, with the ballpark, the First Base office building with hundreds of well-paid white-collar workers, several residences, a church, and restaurants, is but one node of downtown Columbia with recent construction. You still have USC's campus, Main Street/CBD, the Vista, North Main, Five Points, and the Olympia neighborhood with their own portfolios of recent construction. It really is a lot; I fell asleep this morning compiling a list for this thread LOL. Columbia's list is most definitely longer than Augusta's here. A couple of items you mention for DT Augusta were built in DT Columbia years ago; they've already been there and done that.
Quote:
What CEO’s are mentioning Columbia in the same breath as Silicon Valley, DC, Austin, or Nova?
“As I look at my investment portfolio for research, I really believe that I can do more research and more things down there. Just the economics of that region is much better than the kind of the challenge that I live in” in northern Virginia, Jungck said. In the Washington, D.C. area, as well as other cyber hubs such as Austin, Texas, and Silicon Valley, the cost of living is so high it is “just unlivable for a family,” he said.
The D.C. corridor and the competition for talent and housing is only likely to get worse as Amazon prepares to put half of its second headquarters, and potentially 25,000 employees, into northern Virginia, Jungck said. Augusta is much more affordable, he said.
The change in downtown Augusta will be even more dramatic than either Greenville or Chattanooga.
No CEOs or publications are mentioning Columbia along with any of those cities because cybersecurity isn't Columbia's thing. I mean if you want that to hang your hat on, great, but you sure are putting all of your eggs into such a niched basket. Oh, and I think I should probably point out that that niched field is the only point of comparison with Augusta, and it hinges on the sector's future performance in Augusta. Those other cities have huge tech economies in general as well as other large and important economic sectors and they aren't depending on cybersecurity in particular to make them relevant or push them to the next level as cities. I really do wish Augusta well with this effort and it would be great to see a wider variety of tech jobs go to Augusta as a result, giving Atlanta some measure of true competition within Georgia when it comes to tech. But only time will tell; you're grossly overinflating Augusta's stature and importance right now based on what may happen in the future, complete with Chamber of Commerce boilerplate boosterism. It would be wise to tamper down on that a bit, play up Augusta's existing strengths, and highlight other areas in the local economy that are doing fairly well. Citing all these puff pieces reek of desperation which is unfortunate.
And your claim about future change in downtown Augusta versus Greenville and Chattanooga is just baseless. If this 'prediction' of yours rests on your confidence in the future success of cybersecurity, then you would have it backwards. Greenville and Chattanooga successfully revitalized their downtowns in the absence of a big economic driver; those cities capitalized on the natural features of their downtowns, invested in family-friendly amenities and attractions, valued the importance of architecture in placemaking, and made a great pedestrian experience the centerpiece of their efforts. You don't get to be another downtown Greenville or Chattanooga just by building a bunch of hundred million dollar projects here, there, and everywhere. It comes through years of intentional efforts by city leaders to make them very pleasant places people truly wish to be, without even having any particular reason for going to having a specific destination in mind. If you can show me where such a vision exists for downtown Augusta (and no, that would be your standard 10- or 20-year downtown masterplan), I'll retract my statement but all I see now is overzealous boosterism on your part.
CBD
$100 million Cyber Center
$25 million Miller Theater
TaxSlayer headquarters
Shared Space
$25-$30 million Hyatt House
Riverwalk expansion
YMCA new DT location
Coming soon - $100 million Riverfront at Depot, 6th street apt buildings.
Medical District
$60 million Cancer Center expansion
$42 million University ER expansion
Coming soon - $70 million Augusta Univ Science & Math building, MCG Foundation Gateway project
Harrisburg
$150-$300 million Augusta Cyberworks
Coming soon - Heckle street project
Laney Walker
$32 million Foundry Place
Coming soon - Reserves at IC
There’s other developments including a 24 acre mixed use development, and the former Cherry Tree housing project redeveloped into Walton Green.
There’s a $150 million project with a minor league baseball stadium across the river in DT North Augusta, South Carolina.
And none of this includes stuff built since late 2017/2018, projects under construction, or those in the pipeline.
Well, the Keenan Building and the three proposed developments are pretty much set in stone to happen now. Now it’s just waiting for construction to start.
Well, the Keenan Building and the three proposed developments are pretty much set in stone to happen now. Now it’s just waiting for construction to start.
Yep; those four plus the redevelopment of the historic Claussen's Bakery building in Five Points should result in at least 500 new residential units by themselves.
The city also recently annexed 5 acres in the Olympia neighborhood immediately south of downtown in anticipation of a new residential development, which should officially be announced soon: https://www.wltx.com/mobile/article/...a-e88892465dfc
With the Kline site finally getting developed, I would expect the old SCANA bus barn lot right next to it to get developed soon also. There were previously plans for a mixed-use development for that site but they weren't realized and I forgot why. https://www.free-times.com/news/loca...902e8caa6.html
Three more hotels are also planned for downtown. In addition to apartments, the Kline development is expected to include a 250-room hotel. A mid-century office building on Washington Street, just off Main, is being converted to a 91-room Holiday Inn, and a 104-room hotel is planned for a lot on the same street a few blocks west in the Vista. And of course, last year saw the opening of the 41-room independent boutique Hotel Trundle just off Main Street.
Economy - Columbia
Weather - Tie
Crime - Augusta
Amenities - Columbia
Scenery - Columbia
Food - Columbia
Overall - Columbia. It's actually one of the best small metros.
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