SOUTHEAST SNAPSHOT, AUGUST 2004

Augusta Retail Market

The Augusta, Georgia-Aiken, South Carolina, metropolitan statistical area has a population of almost 500,000 and a workforce of 215,000. Augusta’s economy has suffered from jobs exported overseas, but in 2003 it rebounded with 3 percent job growth, primarily in the hospitality and healthcare industries. The retail industry is also showing signs of new life in Augusta.

Augusta has attracted national retailers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Gap. However, retailers such as Banana Republic, Pottery Barn and Williams-Sonoma have not chosen to locate in the market yet, preferring to first locate in nearby second-tier cities such as Charlotte, North Carolina, and Columbia, South Carolina. This status might be changing, though, with the addition of a proposed lifestyle center near the intersection of Washington and Belair roads in Evans, Georgia.

Augusta-based Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial Corporation and Atlanta-based Abernathy & Timberlake Investment LLC purchased the 21-acre campus of Evans Middle School and adjacent land for $4.8 million in May. The 30-acre parcel is expected to be developed into a retail center with a combination of high-end tenants in a pedestrian-friendly layout. Construction of the project, proposed to be the focal point of Evans Town Center, will take 12 to 15 months.

Target is said to be interested in anchoring another retail center near the intersection of Washington and Owens roads. Kohl’s may also join the tenant lineup at the 395,000-square-foot retail center on 47 acres. Developer Frank Mullins plans for seven major tenant stores and four outparcels suitable for restaurants. The proposed Target would be 123,800 square feet and would open by October 2005. A rezoning request may clear the way to build townhouses on nearly 30 acres behind the proposed center.

Augusta has its share of vacant big boxes, but the city has had some success in backfilling the empty retail space. G.B. Shoes recently occupied the former Office Depot on Marks Church Road. Bankruptcy Warehouse moved into the former Pier 1 Imports space on Wrightsboro Road. A local church will soon occupy The Athlete’s Foot building on Augusta West Parkway. Entire centers are also being re-adapted for alternate uses. Walton Corner shopping center on Walton Way, once anchored by Winn-Dixie and Eckerd, is now home to BellSouth’s regional offices and CareSouth Home Health. Car dealer Andy Jones is converting Columbia Square shopping center into an auto mall, a $20 million project.

Other empty retail space includes the former T.J. Maxx at The Augusta Square shopping center, shop space vacancies at Peach Orchard Plaza, and a vacant Mansour’s department store and Gateway Country Outlet at Augusta Exchange. The city’s largest vacancy is the nearly 500,000-square-foot Regency Mall. Augusta Entertainment LLC has proposed to construct a new 12,000-seat civic center on the site of the now-vacant mall. The arena would be funded with $60 million in sales tax money provided by a public referendum. The proposed public/private partnership will create jobs and additional tax revenue for the community.

Officials in Columbia County, Georgia, are considering an amendment to the county’s Growth Management Plan, which outlines the maximum size retail centers can be at key intersections in the county. The amendment was proposed because some areas have outgrown their designations, now that the area has become less rural. The continued growth of affluent neighborhoods along Furys Ferry Road in northwest Augusta has prompted restaurants to flourish. McDonald’s, Zaxby’s, a new upscale Mexican restaurant and Camino Real are planned to meet the demand created by residential and commercial growth.

The extension of Bobby Jones Expressway into South Carolina will most likely boost retail activity on both sides of the Savannah River. When Interstate 520 is linked with U.S. Highway 1 in North Augusta, South Carolina, the route will provide quicker access between west Augusta and South Carolina for workers and shoppers.

— Lynn Leonard, vice president of marketing, NewBridge Retail Advisors


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