Fall 2020 - 1736 Magazine

HITS & MISSES
GREAT SCOTT: No organization likes to lose good people. So we can understand the Augusta
Downtown Development Authority lamenting the loss of its longtime board member, Scylance B. Scott
Jr., who stepped down from his role as chairman earlier this year. Although the move will give the
economic development organization fresh leadership in the form of Jack Evans – a very competent
Augusta University administrator – Scott’s deep and diverse connections throughout the Augusta
community made him effective at helping the organization transcend the geopolitical divides that
often slow the community’s progress. Scott, the CEO of the Antioch Ministries community development
organization, will be greatly missed at the DDA. And so will his former vice chairman Rick Keuroglian,
who earlier this year moved to Brush, Colorado, to serve as assistant town manager.
“FOREIGN” INVESTMENTS: While we’d prefer to see local companies investing in the urban
core, we’re more than happy to settle for the next best thing – out-of-town capital. Earlier this
year New York-based DXE Properties acquired downtown’s time-worn River Ridge Apartments on
13th Street to renovate it into a mid-priced community called “The Downtowner.” The multimillion-dollar
renovation will include modernizing the kitchens and bathrooms and adding modern
amenities such as a fitness center, a dog park and outdoor grill stations. The 104-unit complex,
situated between the city’s central business and medical districts, should be a welcome midpriced
addition to downtown’s growing multifamily residential market.
GETTING IT TOGETHER: Augusta’s central business district is not the downtown it was just 10
years ago, said Jennifer Napper, a vice president for military contractor Perspecta and a retired
Army officer stationed at Fort Gordon. If it was, she said, she likely would have been unable to
convince 100 of the company’s employees to uproot from the metro D.C.-area to relocate to Augusta
to help service Perspecta’s cybersecurity contract with Army Cyber Command. “(They) said we liked
what we see in Augusta better,” Napper said, adding that Army cyber’s influence on the community
has strengthened ties between elected officials and business leaders. “If you would have told me
10 years ago I could attract 100 folks to come down here, I would have said it’s probably not going
to happen.” Here’s hoping for additional growth at the Georgia Cyber Center, where Perspecta will
house its back-office and employee-training operations. When other prospective employees are
given the chance to experience downtown Augusta, we believe they will like what they see, too.
SOMEBODY HAD TO STEP UP: Sometimes you have to take matters into your own hands
to effect a positive change. That’s exactly what Sherman & Hemstreet Real Estate executives
Joe Edge and Connie Wilson did over the summer when they purchased the old First Baptist
Church of Augusta building on Greene Street. After more than three decades of neglect, the
historically and architecturally significant structure is set to undergo a two-phase renovation
project designed to convert the church administration area into an office building and its
highly recognizable sanctuary building into an upscale restaurant. Buying and investing in a
long-vacant property is a bold and risky move, but it’s an example we wished other downtown
property owners would follow. It’s certainly better than allowing buildings to sit and rot.
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