Fall 2020 - 1736 Magazine

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MYTHS HARD TO DISPEL Officials can't establish a direct correlation between downtown Augusta’s blighted buildings and its incidence of crime. While falling crime rates coincide with increased investment in the central business district during the past few years, the city's large number of vacant and/or dilapidated buildings do little to foster a sense of public safety in the urban core. Charles Scavullo, general manager of downtown’s Imperial Theatre, said he has not seen a criminal incident occur before, during or after a show during the 14 years he’s worked there. However, he hears anecdotes from friends and on social media that downtown is unsafe. “They perceive it to be dangerous,” Scavullo said. “There have been some well-publicized things that have happened over the years, but as far as the entertainment district, nothing has happened in our neck of the woods.” He said he believes some opinions would change if downtown Augusta had less blight. The Imperial, for example, is surrounded by downtown Augusta's largest vacant buildings: the Marion and Lamar buildings to the left and right, and the former J.C. Penney department store building diagonally across the 700 block. Scavullo said some opinions would never change, even if every downtown building was spruced up and occupied. The Imperial Workers Theatre tend during to raised the Poison flower Peach beds Film in the Festival Broad in Street Augusta median Friday parking evening bays January in downtown 4, 2019. August “There are some people who just don’t like urban landscapes, and then there are the people who say they ‘never go downtown’ when that’s just not true,” Scavullo said. “I saw a guy I know on Facebook post once that he never goes anywhere downtown except Hildebrant’s. And that just wasn’t true, because I’ve seen him here at shows before. So if he’s coming to shows here, he’s probably also going to shows at the Miller and the Bell.” Aside from negative perceptions, persistently vacant or abandoned buildings can pose an actual public safety hazard. A report by the CCIM Institute, a Chicago-based organization representing commercial real estate agents, said crime rates “on blocks with open abandoned buildings are twice as high as rates on matched blocks without open buildings.” “Cities must address the issue of vacant buildings for a variety of reasons,” the report said. “Abandoned buildings depress property values, reduce tax revenues, and BLIGHT continues on 43 COMPARE... Building: Old Woolworth dime store Address: 802-810 Broad St. Owner: Jay Klugo, Clemson, S.C. Size: 46,000 square feet Year built: 1939-1945 Tax-assessed value: $316,653 Condition: Vacant, severely dilapidated History: Three storefronts were combined over the years to create the Augusta Woolworth department store. The two-story building's lunch counter was the site of a famous sit-in protest by a group of Paine College students in 1960. The store closed in 1991 and has been vacant since. A plan to turn the building into a tech-focused business accelerator fizzled in 2017, Klugo, a multi-unit restaurateur who owns the popular Sole restaurant in Augusta, purchased the property in 2018 but has yet to renovate it. 40 | <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com The old Woolworth department store at 802 Broad St. has been vacant since the early 1990s. The property is in need of extensive renovation. [FILE/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE]
Graffiti, weeds and trash mark the back of buildings on Broad Street (visible from Ellis Street) in Augusta. AND CONTRAST... Building: The Southern Salad Address: 1006-1008 Broad St. Owner: Brad and Havird Usry Size: 6,500 square feet Year built: 1906 Tax-assessed value: $467,724 Condition: Occupied, fully renovated History: The father-son restaurateur duo opened their farm-to-table concept in the turn-of-the-century two-story building, formerly occupied by the Zimmerman Gallery, in 2018. The building’s second story contains loft apartments. The narrow, 0.2-acre parcel is one of the few on Broad Street with its own dedicated parking spaces in the rear of the building. A hole is cut through the wall to the adjacent Augusta & Co. visitor experience center operated by the Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau. Southern Salad (left) and the Augusta Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Augusta & Co. store are among the newest renovated buildings on the 1000 block of Broad Street. [FILE/THE AUGUSTA CHRONICLE] <strong>1736</strong>magazine.com | 41
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 and 22: High-efficiency chiller. Improvedco
Page 23 and 24: The first phase of the renovation c
Page 25 and 26: 1736magazine.com | 25
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 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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