Growing up in Augusta, it’s been remarkable to see the exponential growth over the last few years.
My grandparents can remember when Washington Road was home to just a handful of businesses, and now it’s one of the key corridors in our city.
Downtown Augusta has come a long way since I was in high school at Davidson Fine Arts. The school advised us not to walk around downtown in the scheduling gap between school and rehearsals. Now, it’s an imminently walkable mosaic of business and culture.
Residents of Grovetown will tell you just how much the area they live in has morphed and exploded.
In learning more this past year about how all the cogs fit together to keep Augusta running, I’ve heard some business leaders mention goals for 2022, and I’ve got a few of my own to chip in.
Continued partnership between Richmond and Columbia counties
The two counties working together something Cal Wray of the Augusta Economic Development Authority mentioned to me in a recent conversation we had about his outlook for Augusta in 2022.
Of course, Wray has put his money where his mouth is on this, as he’s been working with Columbia County Development Authority’s Robbie Bennett for 18 months on a project that straddles the line between both counties. Expect more announcements about this project, which will bring more office space for Department of Defense contractors and cybersecurity personnel to the area, early this year.
MORE: Forecasting Augusta’s economic outlook for 2022
The hope is, Wray said, that future developments will pop up in both counties.
To me, this is a perfect example of what happens when the best interest of the city is put first. Both Wray and Bennett have been open and cooperative with me whenever I’ve brought questions about developments in the CSRA, whether it was something small like a local business or something major like the Amazon facilities.
I hope that the project the two have partnered on will be a success, first of all, and serve as an example of a healthy partnership. I hope that other business and political leaders will see this as challenge to cooperate better with organizations and agencies that they themselves deal with, too. We are all on the same team, or at least we should be, when it comes to making Augusta a great place to live, work and play.
Fewer empty storefronts in the downtown area
I’d love to see fewer vacant buildings in downtown Augusta. As I said, this area has come a long, long way in just the past three, five, 10 years. However, there are still a few vacant storefronts marked with graffiti and shattered glass that could provide a small business with a home in a vibrant market.
My father owns a small business, and I know from both growing up working for him and from learning so much about Augusta’s local businesses that it’s never as easy as it looks. Some folks may think that people who owns their own business have a money-printing machine, but the margins are usually stretched thin. The smaller the business, the thinner the margins. That said, there are tools available for small business owners to make their dreams a reality. One such tool is AugustaSmallBusiness Relief.com, the result of another inter-city partnership.
Sue Parr, president of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, said her team worked with city leadership to help market the Augusta-Richmond County small business grant relief program. She said they built out the website and portal for businesses seeking grant relief. About 160 businesses have applied for grant relief to the tune of $1.2 million infused into local businesses that were going through a rough patch over the last two years of a pandemic-stricken economy.
MORE: Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce president looks back on successful 2021
Wray’s staff also lends a hand to small businesses that are just getting started. I’m reminded of how Tim McFalls of the AEDA reached out to a group of young men who were remodeling a space on Central Avenue that has now become Unwind on Central, a study lounge and cafe for local students.
Again, these partnerships are the key to growth, and more and more of these communal efforts can help to erase empty storefronts and further diversify the goods and services offered in the CSRA.
Prioritizing local business
Telling the stories of local business owners has been a source of great pride this past year. So many of them were effusive in thankfulness that the newspaper had noticed them and wanted to share news and information about their business.
The impact that even a few extra door-swings can mean for our small business owners is massive.
With supply chain issues plaguing virtually every industry in some way and costs once again on the rise, consider the local business. They have to contend with these increased costs and wait times just the same as the “big guys,” and local consumers can help bridge the gap.
Shopping local was a huge boon for small businesses during Small Business Saturday.
Sarah Childers, director of community engagement for Destination Augusta, said the success was a great proof of concept.
The headquarters of the event, Augusta and Co., had its best sales day since the store opened in March 2019, and their data shows that nearly 1,000 customers made a purchase downtown on Small Business Saturday.
“It’s a testament that if people and these businesses buy-in and work together, the rising tide really does raise all boats,” Childers said.
And why not keep more dollars in Augusta? Growing the local economy and strengthening the city? It’s a beautiful thing.
The global pandemic has taken so many things away from us, but keeping up the support of our local creators, artisans and makers can be an investment that pays out for much longer than any virus can affect us.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
