The Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce helped welcome the Phinizy House Events Center to the public at its grand opening, Thursday afternoon.
Visitors gathered in the main event room, hors d’oeuvres and a full bar provided, to celebrate the renewal of the historic Phinizy property into a new venue, geared toward weddings, receptions, parties and corporate events.
Amenities include a bridal lounge, a kitchen equipped for use for events as well as for commercial caterers, a parlor and the Rose Room, a once-abandoned space in the chapel building refurbished with ornate plasterwork and a pearl finish.
“This is transforming into a new era for this facility and for this building,” said Rob Mauldin, vice president of 2KM Architects, who renovated the Phinizy home. “That’s really what we need downtown… for these historic buildings to be used, lived in, enjoyed and make new memories for everybody in the future.”
Jacob Phinizy built the two-story main house in 1872, and the property has undergone several developments since then, including a two-story horse stable in 1900 and the addition of the chapel to the west wing in 1958. From 1938 to 2001, the house was the site of what ultimately became the Poteet Funeral Home.
2KM acquired the property in 2010, rehabilitating the main house to use for its offices and using the stable and chapel for storage space. The firm continues to conduct business there upstairs, as it has done since 2012.
“The impetus to revitalize the chapel was ‘why not?” said Brad King, junior principal architect with 2KM. “People needed that space, it’s of a good size, and we thought what do people want, what other amenities can we add to it… We saw it as a filling a need in the area.”
The Phinizy House Events Center is located at 529 Greene St. and is currently available for bookings. For more information visit www.phinizyhouseeventscenter.com.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
