Since last May, the owners of the defunct Regency Mall property have promised a multi-million-dollar revitalization of the site that would benefit the entire South Augusta corridor, and yet nothing has materialized so far.
At a press conference on May 22, Cardinale Management, represented by then-mayoral candidate Steven Kendrick, promised a mixed-use facility that would have living, entertainment and educational components.
The ambitious project, called Cardinal Town Square, would include “hundreds of apartments,” a grocery store, a fitness center, several restaurants, a K-12 academic facility, a performing arts theater and green space.
However, since then, no bulldozers or even shovels have shown up at the site.
Kendrick says that talks continue, but nothing concrete has been established in terms of timelines or what other groups might want to be involved.
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“The (Richmond County Economic) Development Authority has discussed it and advised that they should continue discussions, although there has been no official ask of the development authority,” Kendrick said.
However, a statement sent out by Jim Overstreet Jr., attorney for the development authority makes it clear that the body has no interest in the current plans.
“To date, the only thing that the EDA has done with regards to this project is provide general informational support, the same as we would to any entity that inquired of us about coming to Augusta, Georgia. Whatever Steve Kendrick has done to date with the project is not in any representative capacity of the EDA (and should not be construed as such),” the statement reads.
Kendrick, who is the former tax commissioner for Richmond County, has stated for the record that he is not being paid to consult on the project and is acting only as a concerned citizen.
Along with presenting architectural plans, Cardinale has already secured zoning allowances, submitted a regional impact plan to the Central Savannah Regional Commission and commissioned a study aimed at finding another ingress/egress point along Gordon Highway, but such work attempts seems to have stalled as of August.
Cardinale Management, based in Mattituck, N.Y., has owned the site for two decades and in the past few years has garnered some negative headlines.
After the building, which was appraised through tax office at $4 million, sat on the market for years with no buyer interest, in 2017, a lobbying effort ensued between Cardinale Management and Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. for the city to pay the $63 million asking price to buy the property and relocate the James Brown Arena to the site.
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The lobbying effort ended up under the scrutiny of the Georgia Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission when it was determined that so-called “dark money” or untraceable funds had been used to purchase billboards advocating for the move during a non-binding referendum, according to document filings made by the commission.
Previous reports in The Augusta Press provided evidence that Mayor Hardie Davis Jr. had used his staff and other city resources to promote the plan during the time leading up to the referendum.
Cardinale Management later drew the ire of the city when it was determined a “glitch” in the system allowed the owners to avoid paying the city stormwater fee for years. Once the glitch was discovered, the company demolished most of the building and dug up the parking lot, according to District 10 Commissioner John Clarke.
“They just came in and made the eyesore even worse so they could avoid paying the fee,” Clarke said.
Representatives for Cardinale Management could not be reached for comment.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
