Topher1

jeez... nice find.. I'll be watching this one very anxiously!

The judicial center will unfortunately NOT be the 20 floor originally proposed. The original proposal several years ago, the first time SPLOST was voted down, was for an $80 million center. I'll be happy if the new $40 million proposal reaches half that height... Either way, the original and the scaled down plans are both exciting prospects for Augusta.

Interesting... I made it to Adair's soft-opening/trial run (friends with one of the chefs), and was completely blown away by the food. I really thought it compared very well to some of the more upscale restaurants in Charleston. They had a very long delay before opening due to permitting problems (because of parking), so there was some decent staff turnover since I ate there, but I would only imagine that the food and service has gotten better now that they've been open for a while. There's a lot of pecans and southern veggies woven into the dishes, and the she-crab soup is phenomenal. Also the steak was one of the best I've ever eaten...

Paraphrased from the Chronicle today: We should expect to hear an announcement in February regarding the old train depot on Reynolds, as well as the surrounding property. Apparently the talk is of renovation of the depot (and partial demolition for a new cross street), and new retail and residential on the property. IMO, this is the absolute most important (and one of the largest) parcel in downtown Augusta.... riverfront location, adjacent to the 5th st. bridge... I'm really crossing my fingers for something dense and urban to help jump-start Reynolds St... http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/01130...s_6229797.shtml

The Columbus area was never quoted in any of the Kia articles I've seen. From what I've read, the five finalist sites (as of 12/29/05) are Aiken, SC; Meridian, MS; Chattanooga, TN; Decatur, AL; and Hopkinsville, KY. The Meridian site was originally chosen, but Kia decided to go for an even larger facility and reinstated their search. This will obviously be an enormous boost for whatever city/state gets it, so I'm definately keeping my ears open for any announcements regarding this plant...

It's perfect for someone who wants to grab a quick bite to eat before/after a movie, or before going to get hammered at a downtown bar... Downtown/Thornton Park has plenty of medium to upscale restaurants for the time being, but fast food is fairly lacking...

^ Ahh.. you're right, and I don't know exactly where a mobile home park is... Looking at a satellite image, the only thing that looks like it could be a mobile home park is at approximately location #2, which would border an apt. complex, and would be across from the Food Lion, Post Office strip mall...

Silver Bluff Rd is on the southside (where ALL new development is occurring). It splits off of Whiskey and travels towards SRS. My guess is that this development could occur in one of 3 spots on Silver Bluff. 1) Near the intersection of Silver Bluff and Pine Log (where TJ Maxx, Ross, Bed Bath and Beyond, Steinmart, Old Navy, etc are going in). 2) Where Silver Bluff and Pine Log split (across from Food Lion, Southside Post Office, etc). 3) Amongst the Woodside office park, across from the newly-annexed Gem Lakes subdivision. My guess is probably that #3 will be the location, though with the infill momentum, #1 or #2 wouldn't surprise me either.

The downtown square seems more prevalent in the smaller towns from my experience. Off the top of my head, Barnwell, Edgefield, and Abbeville all have one (all complete with small Washington monument-style statues).

The best place to find info on Orange County toll roads is the Expressway Authority website. http://www.expresswayauthority.com/futureplans/projects.html Pretty much all of the future I-4 improvements through Central Florida are covered on trans4mation.org. http://www.trans4mation.org/fdot/index/trans4mation.home

Not a big fan of Mellow Mushroom's pizzas (I was just there Tuesday), but I do love their sandwiches and salads. The best part of the place, IMO, is the very good (and nicely-priced) beer selection, as well as the weekend drink specials. They're a chain (I always visit the one in DT Augusta when I'm visiting my parents), but they really cater to the local community when it comes to beer and wine selection.

I ran into a 55W buyer in Lava last week who is actually waiting for the building to be constructed before he moves to Orlando (from the northeast US, if I remember correctly). He remains clueless as to why the project in progressing so slowly. I offered him my heartfelt condolences, of course, because it'll probably be a LONG time before he can make his move.

Ugh... Anyone see the new Columbia Co. article in the Chronicle...? The arrogance and superiority of these people kills me. The article was about the name for the new government. Surprisingly, one commissioner suggested West Augusta, but he was laughed out of the room. Here's the quote that kills me: "What's wrong with Evans?" Columbia County probate judge and county historian Pat Hardway said. "That was one just voted 32nd best place to live. " ... I like that much better than anything associated with Augusta." Surely these people don't think their homes would exist if they weren't associated with Augusta.... friggin idiots... http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/09230...t_5255369.shtml

It would probably be called Augusta-Evans GA-SC MSA. Aiken got kicked out of the MSA name in the 2003 definitions after Augusta-Richmond County consolidated. From my understanding, the only time that more than one city is included in the MSA name is when there are multiple cities of comparable size (there are specific rules governing this that I'm not solid on). Pre-consolidation, Augusta had around 45,000 people and Aiken had ~20,000 so it made sense to call it Augusta-Aiken GA-SC MSA. Now that Augusta has ~190,000 to Aiken's 28,000, Aiken is no longer included. Here's the current definition from census.gov. 12260 Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area 12260 13033 Burke County, GA 12260 13073 Columbia County, GA 12260 13189 McDuffie County, GA 12260 13245 Richmond County, GA 12260 45003 Aiken County, SC 12260 45037 Edgefield County, SC

^ Add another rural county, Burke Co., GA to Augusta's metro. Burke was added in the 2003 census dept. MSA definitions.

^ Your statement sounds accurate to me. Columbia Co. could switch places with almost any metro Atlanta sprawl county and no one would know the difference. I consider Columbia Co. to be Augusta's Lexington Co. The sprawl is exactly the same, plus they both are booming with lake/riverfront developments (Lake Murray in Lexington, and Clark's Hill/Savannah River in Columbia Co.). Regardless of geography, sprawl is sprawl, and Columbia Co. is as generic as it comes. I can't say I hate Columbia Co, since the area would be stagnant without it, but I just wish these people would find the charm in some of the metro's more established areas.

The flight from the center city isn't historically unique to Augusta, but many cities these days are turning the pattern around. The resurgence of restaurants and bars in DT in the 90's looked like the start to something big, but it seems to have been stagnant for a few years now. The only good thing that I see is that, while many local DT restaurants are opening Columbia County locations, most are still keeping the DT locations. One thing that Columbia Co. can never take from Augusta is nightlife, since traditional bars are illegal in the county. If Columbia County 20-30-somethings are OK with hanging out at TGI-Fridays, they'll be fine, but if they want to go to a real bar or club, they have to come to Augusta. And I hear First Friday is really starting to pick up again. I went to the last big one a few years ago (right before the strict alcohol regulations began), and it was a blast. It honestly felt like New Orleans. I'd love to see DT relax the First Friday laws again, and make it a true street party again.

As much as I loathe Columbia County, incorporation is the very best step it can take right now. I'm interested in seeing what the opinions of those in Martinez is... Although I personally can't tell where Martinez ends and Evans begins, some people do they its important to differentiate between the two... Grovetown and Harlem are complaining about this stifling their growth, but the way the county is growing, I think they'll do just find once the sprawl makes it to them. It would be pretty cool to have two cities over 100,000 in the Augusta metro though.

Wow, I've never heard of that. I guess I was too young. I did wonder what was there before they created Fort Discovery. That would be awesome if Augusta still had shopping on the Riverwalk...

^ That's why you see tons of fireworks stores in the border counties in SC, TN, AL. North Augusta, SC and Hardeeville, SC (I-20 and I-95) have huge fireworks businesses because of Georgia's restrictive laws.

I don't remember the exact population estimate, but the metro has approximately 515,000 people, making it the clear (but distant) #2 behind Atlanta. There's currently only 2 "malls" in the Augusta area. Those are the Aiken Mall and the Augusta Mall. The Regency mall closed years ago. This new lifestyle center would be the 3rd "mall." The shopping centers referenced in socaguy's post are mostly strip malls. What we do have (and are slowly losing) is several freestanding department stores that are not part of an enclosed mall. That's quite a rarity these days, but I think those store's days are numbered. The malls are just going to get more traffic/business than freestanding stores, unfortunately.

Further news regarding the new "mall": The Chronicle reported today that there has been no comment on the future status of the National Hills and Augusta Mall Dillards. I wouldn't be surprised if the National Hills one is closed Also, the Belk that is opening will be replacing the one in North Augusta, creating another empty big box near the old Wal-Mart... One thing is certain, this development will put a hit on Augusta Mall as well as probably close a few stores in Augusta Exchange. Also, I think this will lessen the chances of seeing a new movie theatre elsewhere in the metro where its needed more (ie Aiken)... The Aiken Mall cinema is one of the worst first-run theatres that can be found these days... I'm definately glad to see new growth in Richmond County, but I just can't help feeling like something more responsible could go in on this prime block of riverfront land. Nothing would make me happier than seeing a new-urbanist village going in there, but it doesn't look like thats in the cards.

I'm not familiar with the CSX tracks, but would the proposed commuter rail service Sanford-Orlando International? If so, that would be a HUGE boost for that growing airport, and would provide a service that OIA can't match. If Seminole could get the trains near the airport, I can't see why they wouldn't want to support the rail as well.

Zigzag, a forumer on at least SSC and SSP has an extensive collection, nearly 3000 photos. I'm not sure about how he is about others posting his photos though. He tends to link, even in his own threads. But they're well worth a look, as they're quite excellent. http://www.pbase.com/savannahga/

Looks good to me... I only question the criteria used for Savannah Universities... I'm not familiar with all of the universities, but Georgia Southern University is not a Savannah University. Statesboro is at least an hour away...