The Market project in Evans is back underway, and the Columbia County Construction and Facilities Maintenance Department is in the process of locking in contractors to move it forward.
The open-air, public gathering and event venue facility is a general obligation special-purpose local option sales tax—or SPLOST—project voted for in 2017. The facility was originally called “Plaza Park,” to be located in Evans Plaza next to the Columbia County Performing Arts Center.
Dickinson Architects completed the design for the multipurpose structure, which would include greenspace, LED lighting and a patio area, in 2021, and it had been slated for completion by summer of last year.
However, in November 2021, the county rejected the lowest construction bid for The Market, R.D. Brown Contractors at $2.6 million, as the amount at the time still exceeded the budget for the project, and it had been halted as recently as August of 2022.
In December, however, the Construction and Facilities Maintenance Department opened bids again, and the Development and Planning Services (or DPS) Committee voted to accept the lowest bid by Duckworth Development of approximately $2.8 million, drawing funds from both 2017 general obligation bonds and Title Ad Valorem Tax. This vote moved the item to the Board of Commissioners’ consent agenda for its Dec. 20 meeting.
MORE: Columbia County votes for latest contract for The Market project
Tuesday morning, at the first DPS meeting of 2023, the committee voted to approve the county hiring contractor WSP USA Environment and Infrastructure, Inc. for $9,754 to perform special inspections and materials testing for the project. At that meeting, special projects director Steven Prather told the committee that construction on The Market was scheduled to begin “in the next month or two.”
The DPS Committee also voted to accept a $56,000 grant from the Georgia Criminal Justice Coordinating Council in its Tuesday meeting. The state office which supports programs for crime victims, and the monies come from the Victims of Crime Act Victim’s Assistance (or VOCA) Grant Program.
The council awarded the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of the State of Georgia a subgrant to support direct services to crime victims “who have suffered physical, sexual, financial or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a crime.” The grant is to be used to streamline allocation of VOCA funding for victims’ services by the Columbia County District Attorney.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
