1736 Magazine - Fall 2018

A COORDINATED
EFFORT
Downtown organizations need to speak with
‘one voice’ to revitalize urban core
Robert C. Osborne
President, Augusta Tomorrow Inc.
Augusta Tomorrow is in a unique position
of being able to look back and
see where Augusta was almost 40
years ago and how far it has come.
As an early pioneer in public-private
partnerships, Augusta Tomorrow
has acted as the private sector’s main advocate
for urban change since its formation in 1982.
Like many American cities, Augusta’s downtown
began losing its allure when suburbs became
popular. The real blow to downtown Augusta
came in 1978 when the Augusta Mall and
Regency Mall opened within a week of each other.
The central business district soon became a shell
of its former self.
For a community to prosper, it needs a strong
core, and downtown Augusta is the heart of a
metro area we know as “Augusta River Region.”
With Augusta Tomorrow representing the
private sector, its targeted master planning efforts
during the 1980s and 1990s resulted in the
realization of major revitalization efforts such as
Riverwalk Augusta, the Augusta Riverfront Center
complex, the Augusta Common and Springfield
Village Park.
In contrast to downtowns of old, city centers
have emerging as unique environments where
people can live and work, often without having to
step inside a car. Millennials and baby boomers
nationwide are embracing the opportunity to have
dining and recreation within walking distance of
where they live and work.
Until a few years ago, downtown Augusta was
on a path of slow but steady revitalization.
But then came the merging of Augusta State
University and Georgia Health Sciences University
in early 2013 to create the state’s newest research
institution: Augusta University. Later that year,
the Army selected Fort Gordon as the home of
Army Cyber Command by 2020-2021.
Those events have helped spur massive development
throughout downtown, most visibly
at AU’s Riverfront Campus, where the state of
Georgia is building the $100 million Georgia Cyber
Center.
Two new hotels are being built in downtown.
The Medical Districts’ health care facilities continue
to thrive and grow. North Augusta’s bold
vision to expand Hammond’s Ferry into Riverside
Village, a multi-use complex along the Savannah
River that will feature a new hotel, restaurants,
housing and the Augusta GreenJackets’ new stadium.
Unisys has moved a major network operations
center into Augusta’s downtown and other information
technology companies are doing the same
by renovating old buildings into high-tech offices.
Our public school systems are getting on-board
by offering cyber classes at the elementary level.
Augusta’s revitalization is no longer slow and
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