Downtown business owners try to keep smiling amid pandemic - 1736 Magazine, Summer 2020

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BRIEFING By DAMON CLINE HITS & MISSES COME BACK SOON: It’s a common sight to see film crews shooting footage in downtown Augusta, but it’s not very often they are shooting footage about downtown Augusta. Hats off to the folks at the Augusta Downtown Development Authority and Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau for creating a series of promotional public service announcements featuring some of downtown’s most well-known businesses. And thanks to TranterGrey Media for filming the spots and local TV affiliates who aired them. GOOD GUYS WEAR MASKS: Is wearing a face mask while you’re around others in public an unreasonable inconvenience? One might think so by the amount of backlash officials have received over public mask-mandates during the COVID-19 crisis. Ordinances passed in Savannah, Athens, Atlanta and in Augusta by Mayor Hardie Davis have even drawn the ire of Gov. Brian Kemp, who has said such local executive orders are null and void. Questions of legality aside, we think wearing a mask while you’re out and about is simply a smart thing to do, much like wearing a seat belt while you’re driving. A safety belt keeps you from hurting yourself; a mask keeps you from hurting others. SEEING THE LIGHT: It took more than a little work to convince the Augusta Commission that Beacon Station was a good idea, but it seems the trouble was worth it. The market-rate apartment complex near the Dental College of Georgia, a partnership between an Atlanta developer and the city’s Housing and Community Development Department, is on track for 85% occupancy this fall. The medical and education district needs more housing for workers and students, and Beacon Station provides a walkable solution. HOMAGE AT HOME: James Brown received more than a few accolades outside his hometown for almost single-handedly changing the face of funk and R&B. Now his legacy in Augusta will truly be celebrated with the James Brown Heritage Trail, an Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau-marketed tour of notable addresses in the soul legend’s life, including his boyhood home and his favorite pre-tour practice venue. As a bonus, you can listen to a podcast of local celebrities describing the site. 68 | 1736magazine.com
HITS & MISSES HAND IT OVER: As of press time a deal is being worked out that will enable locals to take control of the New Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam. For more than two decades the New Deal-era structure that keeps the Savannah River nice and wide in downtown Augusta has been nothing but trouble under control of the Army Corps of Engineers, which has sought to tear it down and replace it with a fish-friendly pile of rocks. The new plan would keep the dam in place and build a rock pile for fish spawning downstream, letting us keep our downtown riverfront looking like it has for the past 80 years. STAYING CIVIL: Unlike many other cities across America, Augusta seems to understand the part of the First Amendment that gives “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Several marches and gatherings in Augusta to denounce recent highprofile incidents of police brutality against African-American suspects have been crime-free. It means our residents have more civility, or our local law enforcement does a better job of maintaining order when emotions are running high. We’ll take it either way. IN THE RIGHT HANDS: Some people like to buy downtown properties and sit on them. Others like to buy downtown properties to redevelop them. Allan Soto is in the latter category. The 38-year-old president of Vinea Capital – a holding company for a collection of health care and social service organizations – has turned 1002 Broad St. into the Pineapple Ink Tavern. Next on the agenda is upgrading the mid-rise Leonard Building at 702 Broad St. into modern office suites with a ground-level restaurant. “We’re not playing a game of Monopoly down here,” Soto said in a recent interview. “If we get a great building, we’re thinking, ‘What are we going to do with it?’ ” This town could use a few more Sotos. IT’S TIME TO MOVE: History – warts and all – needs to be preserved, not erased. However, painful reminders need to be preserved in a manner that is appropriate for modern times, not anachronistic. It is no longer appropriate for Broad Street’s Confederate monument to occupy 784 square feet of median space on downtown’s main street. What was proper in 19th century Augusta is out of context in 21st century Augusta. A more suitable location for the 76-foot-tall memorial to Confederate dead would be at Magnolia Cemetery or, if the project comes to fruition, the Georgia Museum of Military History on the grounds of the old Academy of Richmond County. 1736magazine.com | 69
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ON THE STREET CONSUMER SPENDING IS
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COVER STORY Shelley Craft, owner of
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Whiskey Bar Kitchen associates, fro
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Penelope Ballas-Stewart, who manage
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normally a breeding ground for viol
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Page 34 and 35: The conference room in Balch & Bing
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Downtown business owners try to keep smiling amid pandemic - 1736 Magazine, Summer 2020

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