An urban zipline and “adventure center” may be the next attraction on Augusta’s downtown waterfront.
The city Public Services committee approved an agenda addition Tuesday entering into a memorandum of understanding with Destination Augusta to spend $1.75 million in sales taxes to develop a zip line and adventure park “along the Augusta Riverwalk,” according to the agenda item from Parks and Recreation Director Maurice McDowell.
Leadership with the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce and Destination Augusta made the little-mentioned sales tax allocation possible, Commissioner Sean Frantom said.
“It’s a very exciting time in Augusta. If anybody tells you differently, they don’t know what’s going on,” Frantom said.
McDowell said planning for the project went back five or six years. It was included as a possible option in one or more locations in the 2017 Destination Blueprint, a master plan for tourist activities commissioned by Destination Augusta, formerly Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau. More recent discussions have put the attraction at the Freedom Bridge, the pedestrian-only attraction crossing the Savannah River at Fifth Street.
In 2021, some commissioners toured the Columbus riverfront, which has a whitewater park and zipline. A zipline consists of a cable stretched from a high area to a low area on which riders hang from a pulley system and are pulled by gravity down to the lower end, which sometimes lands in water.
McDowell said the commission needs to approve the memorandum of understanding so the funding, from special-purpose, local option sales tax 8, can be transferred to Destination Augusta.
The announcement comes on the heels of the opening of Freedom Bridge to pedestrians and a recent study commissioned for Augusta Canal Authority with Destination Augusta support to develop a whitewater park on a downtown canal section. The water park identified for $5 million in seed money from SPLOST 8 remains viable and will see further discussion next year, Frantom has said.
Jennifer Bowen, head of destination development for Destination Augusta, said it will use the funds to issue a request for qualifications from skilled firms. They will “take a look at the riverwalk and riverfront and assess what the best location would be and what the best products are,” she said.
