Beautification Edition - 1736 Magazine, Summer 2019

Other parking concerns are being
addressed, such as the 500-plus spaces
promised to Unisys when they chose to
locate in the Fort Discover children’s
room just off Riverwalk Augusta.
Once everything is signed, construction
at the site could begin in September,
according to Augusta Downtown
Development Director Margaret Woodard.
The developer and the DDA say the
documents will likely be approved this
summer.
BLOC Global announced its plans to
redevelop the riverfront property in
October, nearly two years after it began
negotiations to acquire the 6-acre, cityowned
tract at the corner of Sixth and
Reynolds streets.
Its long-range plans for the property,
which it calls Riverfront at the Depot,
includes construction of 100,000
square feet of “class A” office space,
140 upscale apartments and two parking
decks with capacity for nearly 850 cars.
Mike Carpenter, a principal with
BLOC Global Group, said during a briefing
to the city’s Downtown Development
Authority that his firm has a
letter of intent from a microbrewery
to occupy space in the development’s
first phase – the renovation of the
16,000-square-foot historic depot
building into a retail-and-restaurant
bazaar similar to Atlanta’s Ponce City
Market.
We’re quite excited about the prospects
of filling up the depot building
with the tenants that we need,” said
Carpenter, adding that he expects to
ink a similar deal with a “food-service
company” in the coming weeks.
According to the plans, Phase 1 is
expected to be funded through $14 million
in bonds issued by the downtown
authority, $1.4 million from state and
federal tax credits for historic preservation,
and $35 million from the developer,
including $28 million in debt and $7
million in equity sold to investors.
To be built with those funds are 140
apartments for $26 million, or around
$188,000 per unit, plus 210 apartment
parking spaces for $5.6 million in “Deck
1,” a combined $13 million project and
one of two parking garages mentioned
in the proposal.
1736magazine.com | 65
0818_T_64_AM____.indd 65
7/29/2019 4:26:53 PM