Fall 2020 - 1736 Magazine

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Leap of faith Joe Edge, president of Sherman & Hemstreet Real Estate Co., stands in the sanctuary of the old First Baptist Church of Augusta building on Greene Street. His company is planning a full-scale renovation of the historic property. Local real estate investors aim to restore, re-purpose historic Baptist church Story by DAMON CLINE Photos by MICHAEL HOLAHAN The old First Baptist Church of Augusta building on Greene Street has had many owners since the congregation moved to west Augusta in 1975. But the historic property’s newest owner plans to do something his predecessors never did – invest in the building. “We drive by it every day,” said Joe Edge, president of downtown Augusta-based Sherman & Hemstreet Real Estate. “We were tired of driving past it looking dilapidated.” Edge, who purchased the 118-year-old building over the summer with Connie Wilson, the firm’s senior vice president, is in the early stages of a two-year historic tax credit-assisted renovation project that aims to restore the Beaux Arts-style building to its previous grandeur. The nearly half-acre tract on which the building sits at 802 Greene St. is most famously known for being the birthplace of the Southern Baptist Convention, a Protestant denomination whose number of followers are eclipsed in the Christian world by only the Roman Catholic Church. Edge, 38, said the 16,200-square-foot building will undergo a two-phase renovation, starting with the church offices on the south side of the property. Edge envisions the two-dozen compact offices in the twostory addition being ideal for individual professionals or small firms. 22 | <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com
The first phase of the renovation could take as little as nine months to complete, he said. The more complicated and timeconsuming second phase will be renovating the sanctuary, whose defining feature is the copper-clad dome rising 20 feet above the church’s 62-foot-high plaster ceiling. “The overall character of the building is one of massiveness, symmetry, and restrained Baroque monumentality,” according to a summary description by the National Park Service. “The imposing dome on top is a climax to the massiveness of the entire building.” Renovating the colossal space could take up to a year or more, Edge said. He is undecided about what to do with the sanctuary, but said he is leaning toward renovating into an upscale restaurant space, where the building’s neoclassical architecture would enhance the ambiance. An eatery would require the sanctuary’s sloped, amphitheater-style floor to be leveled, something Edge said could easily be done utilizing the church’s original hardwood flooring, which spent decades concealed by carpeting. The building has no dedicated parking spaces, but Edge said his firm owns a parking lot about a block away, which a restaurateur could use for valet service. The building also sits within walking distance of the Augusta Entertainment Complex’s Bell Auditorium and James Brown Arena. “I’m liking the idea of a restaurant more and more,” Edge said. “If anybody has a better idea, I’m all ears. We’ve got some time to figure it out. It’s a cool building.” Cool is an understatement. The building’s rotunda-esque interior – though decayed from years of neglect – is almost entirely historically intact. Most of its windows, doors, ornate moldings and stained glass – some of which are believed to have been designed by Tiffany & Co – are original, as are the Corinthian columns and decorative garlands that define the building’s stately exterior. The building was constructed in 1902 to replace the smaller church that had been erected on the property in 1821. It was designed by William F. Denny, a well-known Southern architect who also designed Atlanta’s Rhodes Memorial Hall and the former Piedmont Hotel, a turn-of-the-century building considered Atlanta’s first “Northern”-style hotel. Edge and Wilson purchased the building from demolition contractor J.S. Rowe for $200,000 in late August. CHURCH continues on 26 A worker walks past a boarded up section of the old First Baptist Church of Augusta building on Greene Street, which has deteriorated from years of neglect. A stairwell leading to the gallery of the old First Baptist Church of Augusta reveals peeling paint and cracked plaster. Despite years of neglect, the old First Baptist Church of Augusta building on Greene Street retains many of its original architectural flourishes, including its distinctive windows. <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com | 23
Page 1 and 2: FALL 2020 WATERWAYS EDITION Facing
Page 3 and 4: A PRODUCT OF PRESIDENT TONY BERNADO
Page 5 and 6: A temporary walkway for constructio
Page 7 and 8: - may very well be the prime reason
Page 9 and 10: The vacant three-story building at
Page 11 and 12: At University Health Care System, p
Page 13 and 14: Jordan Johnson’s journey to the A
Page 15 and 16: with tracts occupied by everything
Page 17 and 18: issues are the same: You don't want
Page 19 and 20: The Augusta Commission District 1 e
Page 21: High-efficiency chiller. Improvedco
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Page 27 and 28: Sunday, November 15, 2020 T27
Page 29 and 30: The original First Baptist Church o
Page 31 and 32: Richmond County Sheriff’s Deputy
Page 33 and 34: Margaret Woodard, executive directo
Page 35 and 36: Graffiti and overgrown weeds mark t
Page 38 and 39: Pedestrians make their way along Ei
Page 40 and 41: MYTHS HARD TO DISPEL Officials can'
Page 42 and 43: THE ALCOHOL EFFECT Patrons congrega
Page 44 and 45: Good first impressions are importan
Page 46 and 47: Richmond County Community Safety Of
Page 48 and 49: Richmond County Sheriff’s Office
Page 50 and 51: URBAN CORE CRIME Below is a year-to
Page 52 and 53: By the 2010s, most of downtown’s
Page 54 and 55: COMPARE... Building: Former Cobern
Page 56: Artist renderings depict the front
Page 59 and 60: The asymmetric roof lines of the pr
Page 61 and 62: Brendan Thompson, executive directo
Page 63 and 64: An artist rendering shows the front
Page 65: Westobou just completed a “Black
Page 68 and 69: BRIEFING By DAMON CLINE HITS & MISS
Page 70 and 71: FINAL WORDS The biggest danger in d

Fall 2020 - 1736 Magazine

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