Beautification Edition - 1736 Magazine, Summer 2019

LEFT: Vacant buildings on the 900 block of
Broad Street show boarded-up facades and
peeling paint. [DAMON CLINE PHOTOS/THE
AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]
The position of this magazine, whose
mission is to chart the progress of downtown
Augusta’s revitalization, is that a
minority of plodding property owners and
short-sighted city leaders are throwing
wrenches into the gears through inaction.
Possibly even willful obstruction.
Augusta’s downtown has its leaders and
followers, but it also has many who simply
won’t get out of the way. If there ever was a
time to clear the speed bumps, it is now.
The convergence in recent years of
high-tech military investments, a research
university with a rapidly expanding downtown
campus and a renewed interest in
urban living by young professionals has
created the perfect storm for prosperity in
the city center.
Augusta has reached a pivotal point in
its 283-year history, and the actions of
city officials, business leaders and downtown
stakeholders in the coming years will
determine whether the city’s urban core
continues idling on the brink of vibrancy
or plunges full-throttle into a new era of
eminence.
Much progress has been made in the city
center in recent years, through hundreds
of millions of dollars worth of public and
private investments. There are new hotels
and corporate offices in the central business
district. New homes are being built in oncedowntrodden
inner-city neighborhoods.
A best-of-class cyber innovation campus
sits perched on the riverfront and, across
the water, a new ballpark is surrounded by
mixed-use developments.
Yet the splendor of those investments –
significant as they are — are diminished by
an equal amount of dilapidated commercial
buildings, outdated infrastructure, poorly
maintained public spaces and massive
vacant lots. Each weakness on its own poses
major challenges to both public and private
sectors. Combined, they are a monumental
problem requiring laser-beam focus from
leaders and a core of dedicated followers
who must – to put it quite bluntly – fight the
blight using every tool at their disposal.
The cause is just. Downtown is everybody’s
neighborhood. It is not only the
city’s heart and soul, it is the personification
of the city itself.
Like it or not, appearances are everything
in a city. The way a city’s downtown looks,
from the surface of its streets and sidewalks
to the rooftops of its tallest buildings, tells
city residents and visitors alike something
about where they are.
It tells them whether it’s a place they
want to be – or flee.
Taken as a whole, what kind of impression
does downtown Augusta make? What
do gutted and boarded-up buildings say
to out-of-town visitors? What do cracked
and dirty sidewalks whisper in the ears of
suburbanites venturing into the city center
for the first time? To those already living,
Cracked
sidewalks and
overgrown
grass line
the path to
the Augusta
Convention
Center at
the Marriott
complex at
the corner of
James Brown
Boulevard
and Reynolds
Street.
working or playing downtown, do weedcovered
vacant lots offer a smile, or a scowl?
This edition of 1736 unflinchingly focuses
on the appearance of Augusta’s urban core –
the good, the bad and the ugly.
This self-assessment is made in the spirit
of civic improvement.
It is made in the hope that community
leaders and public officials become more
resolute in making downtown’s exterior
reflect the vibrant communities growing
in the urban core. It is made to challenge
all downtown stakeholders – public and
private – to make beautification and renovation
of their spaces a greater priority.
It is made to encourage those unwilling
to participate in downtown revitalization to
step aside so that those who can, will.
The status quo is no longer acceptable.
Officials and community leaders don’t
need to wage Patton-esque “war” to battle
downtown blight and stagnation, but the
pursuit of continued success and growth in
the urban core is indeed a fight.
Battle lines have been drawn: Those who
want a more prosperous downtown, and
those who don’t.
If you haven’t figured out whose side
you’re on, you best get out of the way.
What do you see as the biggest barriers
to progress when it comes to downtown’s
appearance?
“Non-existent public policy. To my knowledge
downtown doesn’t have a champion among
city government-elected officials. What is the
plan for the large vacant buildings? (There
is) so much lost tax revenue. There’s an argument
for a vacant building tax.” – Paul King,
broker, Rex Property & Land
“Parking and simple ‘keep the place clean.’
A public-private partnership can work.
Someone in the city has to be given the
authority to do a deal. The private sector is
not going to do all the work and have the
commission simply do nothing.” – Doug
Cates, partner, Cherry Bekaert; member-atlarge,
Augusta Tomorrow
Do you think downtown Augusta will look
better, worse or the same a decade from now?
“I think it will get better. I think the families
that have been hoarding properties will
move on them as prices rise, and rising
rents will make projects feasible that
weren’t just a few years ago.” – Jonathan
Aceves, commercial and land advisor,
Presley Realty
“The downtown appearance changes
daily for the better. There are so many
buildings that are being renovated and
properties being cleaned up. The city’s
entities are working together to keep us
clean and safe.” – Janie Peel, broker, Prime
Commercial Properties
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