The Augusta Commission put the city’s skin in the game Tuesday.
On the heels of a $30 million community ask by Republican state legislators for matching funds, the commission voted unanimously to commit $5 million to a proposed Medical College of Georgia research building in the downtown medical campus.
“The proposed research building is in the whole region’s best economic interest, not to mention the accretive effect the new physician-scientists and researchers will have on Columbia County’s new hospital,” the legislators wrote in a Sunday editorial.
The Augusta Commission approved the city’s $5 million contribution after a closed-door discussion Tuesday. There was no public discussion of the spend.
According to the legislators, the funds will go toward a proposed $150 million research building located in the “epicenter of healthcare” which is the CSRA.
The University System Board of Regents approved funding for a state-of-the-art research facility earlier this year, but requires “skin in the game” from the surrounding community, they said.
The memorandum of understanding approved by the commission Tuesday specifies the cost of the project will exceed $130 million, of which the Georgia General Assembly will budget $99 million. In addition, community stakeholders will contribute a combined $26 million, it said.
“The project is located in the territorial limits of Augusta,” and will create jobs, increase educational opportunities and the quality of medical and biomedical research, “as well as aid in the recruitment of esteemed researchers to the Augusta area, all with an end result of insuring the continued growth and importance of MCG’s campus.”
Should the project not commence within 30 months of the city’s contribution, the money will be refunded, it said.
City officials did not respond to questions about the source of the $5 million. AU officials did not respond to questions about the proposed project.
