Two large buildings in downtown North Augusta are being renovated and repurposed, and ground will be broken in February to build a new three-story mixed use building in the area.
Local developer Brett Brannon of Palmetto Peach Development, LLC says some people might have been a bit confused in believing the development is all one big project because the names of the projects are similar.
“There are actually two different developments, Beacon Bluff retail and Beacon Bluff medical, so they are different, just happening at the same time,” Brannon said.
Palmetto Peach Development is spending $30 million to thoroughly renovate the former Medac building, located at 150 Bluff Ave. near the entrance to SRP Stadium.
Once the renovation is complete, the building will house Augusta Oncology, which is expanding its services to include offering cancer radiation treatments with a new state-of-the-art linear accelerator.
Brannon says the entire interior of the building will be gutted out and all new equipment installed. The façade will receive an update as well.
“Right now the Medac building looks more like a government building or a school, so we are in the planning stages to give the exterior a more pleasing appearance,” Brannon said.
North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams says that having Augusta Oncology expand across the river will bring as many as several hundred jobs to the area.
Across the street, Brannon is planning to build a brand new mixed use, three story building that will house restaurant space on the ground floor, professional office space on the second and third floors with the possibility of some third floor housing as well.
Meanwhile, down Georgia Avenue, Palmetto Peach Development is completely overhauling what was once an indoor-recreation skating center and later a carpet warehouse outlet and will turn that building into both retail space as well as housing.
The old skating rink building, which has sat empty for over a decade, will also undergo a façade refreshment.
Williams says that the development plans dovetail perfectly with the city’s vision of the future for North Augusta.
“I could not be more proud of Brett (Brannon), he has really worked hard on bringing all these pieces together and it once again proves that North Augusta is a growing city with demand for both professional space as well as new places for people to live,” Williams said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
