1736 Magazine - Fall 2018

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and military contractors will have on the economy once Army Cyber Command completes its move from Fort Belvoir, Va., to Fort Gordon by 2020. The rapid establishment of the entirely new industry could be the most transformative event to hit the region since the federal government built the Savannah River Site across the river in the 1950s, possibly since Bobby Jones established his world famous golf club here in the early 1930s. Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis says the city is undergoing a “renaissance.” “We’ve taken a community that many see as a community ‘down by the river’ to a community of innovation and technology,” he said. The command’s move to Augusta is pumping more than $1 billion worth of new construction and 5,000 jobs into the base, but city leaders such as Keel say the real transformation of the region – and downtown in particular – could occur from cyber-related start-up companies and spin-offs. “(It’s) not just the families who are going to be moving here as part of that command,” Keel said. “But the families that are going to be moving here as part of the industry that is going to support that command … This is just an unbelievable opportunity for Augusta.” Indeed, the convergence of the information security industry in Augusta could establish the region as an innovator in a rapidly growing sector that safeguards everything from household appliances to the nation’s missile defense systems. Many of those future cyber workers will be young people wanting to make their home in downtown Augusta, said Stan Shepherd, chairman of the CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon, whose Fort Gordon Cyber District initiative is marketing the seven-county area as “the ideal environment for technology professionals to live, work and play.” “We are really in the process of talent attraction as a community as we try to bring cybersecurity professionals into the area,” he said. “Oftentimes, what we hear from those professionals is that they are looking for a downtown area to call home.” And they’re going to be looking for office space, too. That’s one of the reasons a real estate investment firm affiliated with Augusta-based McKnight Construction Co. purchased the SunTrust Building at Eighth and Broad streets last year. The company recently completed a multimillion-dollar renovation that opens up the 50-year-old building’s compartmentalized offices to better appeal to tech companies that rely on shared workspaces to boost collaboration and productivity, said Ryan Downs, the investment group’s senior vice president and head of McKnight’s real estate holdings. The spaces, which range from 1,000- to 20,000-square-feet and access the same highspeed fiber optic line that serves the Unisys office, will be marketed to tech companies big and small – including startups that could emerge from incubators such as the SharedSpace co-working center on Greene Street. “I think it’s is a very complementary project,” Downs said. “It would be a very natural progression for a start-up there to simply move to a suite here, or, vice versa, for people who work here to work on their innovative start-up there on their own time.” The central city’s tech-centric transformation is the third revitalization wave to emerge since the exodus to the suburbs hollowed out downtown during the 1960s and 1970s. The first ripples of a renaissance were created by artists and boutique owners moving into vacant storefronts during the 1980s and early 1990s; many of their shops and galleries still line Broad Street’s “Artists Row.” The next two decades belonged to bar and restaurant owners, whose eclectic eateries and pubs helped fuel the burgeoning milieu and cement downtown as the city’s cultural and entertainment center. Tomorrow’s urban core is being shaped today by information technology companies and their city-loving millennial employees who seek the “live, work and play” experience on the very streets that Oglethorpe mapped out nearly three centuries ago. The transition couldn’t come at a better time, said Georgia Chamber of Commerce CEO Chris Clark. Augusta isn’t the only community vying to make its central city attractive to young professionals. “Whoever wins them and gets them to move to their communities and their downtowns will find economic success,” Clark told Augusta business leaders earlier this year. “If you can’t attract millennials, it’s done. It’s over. Hang the sign on the door.” • 12 u <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com
DOWNTOWN AUGUSTA What's Needed? SOME SPRUCING UP: “It’s a beautiful city – it just needs a facelift. It needs some work. When you look at what we’re trying to attract – the type of businesses and the type of person – they’re looking for a revitalized, vibrant, live-work-play space where they can do all that.” Dale Dye, former site director, Unisys MORE PARKING: A SINGULAR VISION: “Parking is becoming a very large issue in the downtown area. We believe that now is the time to look at that issue and maybe develop a plan to go three or four years out so that we can be prepared for the eventuality of people having to find safe and hopefully convenient parking.” Sue Parr, president, Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce “I believe I’ve seen three of four versions of what downtown can be, so I believe that a unified vision is important and probably (not having one) right now creates more of a barrier than anything else.” Angela Pringle, superintendent, Richmond County Schools BETTER POLICY-MAKING: PROACTIVE PROPERTY OWNERS: “The commissioners are elected by districts, so their interests, of course, are for their district. But they have to overlook that in order to invest in downtown, because that’s good for everybody.” Paul Simon, managing partner, Augusta Riverfront LLC “Even though we’ve made tremendous progress downtown, on Broad Street there are still a lot of storefronts that have not had the development that I think you’d like to see.” Augusta University President Brooks Keel RENEWED CIVIC PRIDE: CONSISTENT BUSINESS HOURS: MORE RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT: “Where we were was people didn’t appreciate what they had, and I think now they do. And I think that appreciation is going to spread. When we feel good about Augusta, other people are going to feel good about Augusta.” Robert Osborne, chairman, Augusta Tomorrow “We’re going to have to have a seven-day-a-week business environment. No more restaurants opening three days a week, no more museums being closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.” said Brenda Durant, executive director of the Greater Augusta Arts Council. “You might as well say we’re at 100 percent capacity when it comes to living units. So the living aspect – the rental property and the opportunity to own in the downtown area – is something that would help strengthen downtown.” Stan Shepherd, chairman, CSRA Alliance for Fort Gordon <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com u 13
Page 1 and 2: 11 Tech-Tonic Shift 14 Residential
Page 3 and 4: PRESIDENT TONY BERNADOS WELCOME MES
Page 5 and 6: was so nice. It is not the same pla
Page 7 and 8: making manufacturing a vital piece
Page 9 and 10: DOWNTOWN AUGUSTA GEORGIA Nearly $1
Page 11: “Tech”-Tonic Shift Fix downtown
Page 15 and 16: Downtown Dwellers Cameron Henry and
Page 17 and 18: 1ST COMMU- We play ball. NITY BANK
Page 19 and 20: Downtown Dwellers Ross, Brittany &
Page 21 and 22: ing anybody out of something. We’
Page 23 and 24: ferent when he moved in 10 years ag
Page 25 and 26: PHOTO BY MIKE ADAMS Downtown Dwelle
Page 27 and 28: Augusta. But they don’t even do t
Page 29 and 30: BACK TO BROAD After flirting with r
Page 31 and 32: PHOTO BY MICHAEL HOLAHAN Bryan Halt
Page 33 and 34: REBIRTH OF A COMMUNITY Laney-Walker
Page 35 and 36: Hawthrone Welcherdirector of the Au
Page 37 and 38: WHAT’S OLDE IS NEW home [hom] nou
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Page 41 and 42: TURNING BACK THE BLOCK Nonprofit ta
Page 43 and 44: Business School for Business AG-000
Page 45 and 46: PHOTO BY MICHAEL HOLAHAN there’s
Page 47 and 48: Ironwood’s best selling point, ho
Page 49 and 50: Paul King Rex Property & Land LLC B
Page 51 and 52: profiles, occupancy, absorption and
Page 53 and 54: steady. The upward trajectory we ar
Page 55 and 56: Riverfront at the Depot At a Glance
Page 57 and 58: protect your data. One Place for Co
Page 59 and 60: ing was one of the largest reasons
Page 61 and 62: PHOTOS BY COOPER CARRY of Augusta,
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HITS & MISSES Provincial parking at
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Parker Dye, with Jordan Trotter Com
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By bringing in new jobs, we’re ge
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AT A GLANCE New and future office d
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Damon Cline, Editor FINAL WORDS Doe
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