The Market, Columbia County’s proposed open-air gathering space, has been put on hold.
The field in front of the Performing Arts Center in Evans was to be the site of a planned multi-use facility, initially called “Plaza Park” and ultimately named “The Market.”
Intended for use as an event venue and activity space for the Evans Market, the Performing Arts Center and the general public, The Market was to boast wide greenspace, playground equipment and lighting for events.
It was also estimated to begin construction last fall, in time to open up for this summer.
“It’s still out there,” said the county’s facilities and design director for special projects, Steven Prather, who had hoped to see the facility constructed by June of this year. “The sign’s still out there, the project is still out there. We’ve just got a lot going on.”
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The project is on a list of special purpose local-option sales tax projects voted for in 2017 and would be funded by general obligation bond. Not long after Dickinson Architects completed a design for the venue, the county opened bids for construction.
However, the lowest qualified bid, by R.D. Brown Contractors, at $2.63 million still exceeded the budget for the development.
On Nov. 9, 2021, the Development and Planning Services Committee approved forwarding a rejection of R.D. Brown’s bid to the Board of Commissioners’ consent agenda; and so the board officially denied the bid in its Nov. 16 meeting, effectively halting the project.
The Market is not terminated, but shelved, Prather says, until money can be allocated to build it.
“We didn’t really have a supply chain issue with it; that one just came in over a budget,” he said. “So we’re trying to evaluate whether we should reduce the scope or change design; whatever we should do.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
