Restoring the old and building the new, downtown Augusta continues to grow

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Between restoring old pieces of Augusta to bringing in brand new developments downtown is growing by the day. Today the ribbon was cut on the old blue handkerchief factory on Ellis Street which will be now be used as family housing.

After a year of shut doors and closures, it’s good to see new life downtown. In the last year, Augusta has lost businesses but we’ve gained some too. Between new businesses and housing developments like the one at Ellis Street downtown just continues to grow.

Today 12 apartment units on Ellis Street officially opened and the restored handkerchief factory already has seven apartments leased. It’s just one of at least five new housing units in Downtown Augusta that have opened within the last year or have plans to break ground soon.

There’s also been a number of restaurants and businesses opening in the last year as well. The Downtown Development Authority director says the projects thus far are exciting and a good step to increase the city’s tax base. She says from here on out we’ll continue to see growth.

“A lot of projects have been announced this week are that are still on the drawing boards. I think people are putting their budgets together and doing their design work. So, I think you’ll see some more cranes and dumpsters on Broad Street with the new construction,” said Margaret Woodward, executive director at Downtown Development.

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