Beautification Edition - 1736 Magazine, Summer 2019

The boarded up J.C. Penney building on Broad Street, at 83,000 square feet, is one of downtown Augusta’s largest vacant buildings.
[FILE/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]
Many of these owners, McMahon said,
lack the vision or the finances – or both – to
renovate their properties into habitable rental
space for commercial or residential tenants.
And when presented with fair-market offers
from interested buyers, they often scoff.
“There’s this notion that they’re just waiting
for some ship to come in,” McMahon said.
“More often, the reality is that the ship is
never coming, and they just have this completely
unrealistic set of expectations.”
Owners holding out for fantasy offers creates
long-term eyesores that depress property
values, discourage new investment and create
an atmosphere of melancholy in areas that
should otherwise be bustling with vibrancy, said
McMahon, who has authored 15 books on sustainable
development and historic preservation.
Wall said he considers himself fortunate
he was able to strike a deal for the building,
which puts his firm closer to major tech clients,
such as Unisys and TaxSlayer.
He said he’s encouraged to see more downtown
properties come on the market in recent
months, but he believes many are overvalued.
“There are more things for sale, but there
are still some astronomical prices,” Wall
said. “It will stunt the growth of downtown if
nobody sells.”
BAD BUILDINGS, BAD VIBES
Urban planners say a city’s appearance is
impacted by several things: the condition of
its public infrastructure, the cleanliness of its
sidewalks and greenspaces and the general
demeanor of those found on its streets.
But the condition of its buildings has an
outsized effect on how the city is perceived by
both residents and visitors.
“Vacant and abandoned properties are
among the most visible outward signs of a
community’s reversing fortunes,” according to
a 2014 policy report by the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development.
Downtown Augusta – a registered historic
district with a multitude of architecturally
significant properties – is roughly 20 percent
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