Much of North Augusta life and culture brews at the heart of the city, in downtown. Third Thursdays, Augusta Greenjackets games, and small businesses all boom with the support of citizens as well as local government.
While much of the city pays attention to the smaller things in downtown, a much larger project is in the works: North Augusta Forward’s Downtown Revitalization project.
This project encompasses the entirety of downtown, including the past carpet shop near the Municipal Building, the Greenway, the long-forgotten alley system, and the Municipal Building and the surrounding city properties, such as SRP Park.
The Greenway Connector System is one of the many stages of the Downtown Revitalization project that is currently being worked on. Avery Spears-Mahoney, President of NA Forward, describes the alleyway systems used as “an integral part of that project,” and explains the Downtown Greenway Connector, stating, “The Downtown Greenway Connector will be coming up Bluff Avenue. There’s an alley system that runs around our entire downtown, with a piece of it being behind [The North Augusta Carpet Shop].”
Spears-Mahoney believes it is an important task to develop and connect the Greenway to downtown North Augusta, as “Obviously, we have a lot of users on the Greenway. We want to be able to attract those users to downtown, as an economic development engine for our downtown businesses. This will help these people experience downtown, with the shops and businesses, as well as experience the Greenway.”
The North Augusta Carpet Shop has been a long-abandoned relic of North Augusta, and used to function as a roller-skating rink in the upstairs portion.
Brett Brannon, President and CEO of Palmetto Peach Development, expects that “this time next year, around Masters Week, you see a site that has been completely refurbished and occupied with tenants. We plan to do a mixed-use development, with professional office space and retail and restaurant space located here.” Allowing for mixed use will bring about not only economic development but cultural development as well.
Brannon also states that two other buildings are in the works, “…one over toward Bluff Avenue and one towards West Avenue.” A 12,000 square feet building, the abandoned Carpet Shop is an integral part of North Augusta history, NA Forward wanted to have a plan to preserve the history of the building, including rehabilitation.
Briton Williams, Mayor of North Augusta, is fascinated by the progress made and the plan in sight for the revitalization, stating, “This is a big deal guys, and when you come across this bridge, it will be daunting. You have something now that is going to draw you up, and this is a game-changer for our downtown.”
Though it will take time to construct, improve, and revitalize, Downtown North Augusta will be seeing vast improvements in the next years, and many of our students will be around to see it. With leadership and commitment to these projects, the life of North Augusta will soon be something beyond compare.
Photo contributed by North Augusta Forward.
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