Two weeks ago, Augusta Commissioners approved a land swap with the Board of Education, which has Augusta taking over the Houghton school property and, in exchange, receiving land adjacent to T.W. Josey High School. This land swap is tied to the agreed upon demolition of the old jail on Walton Way.
After lengthy debates, Commissioners decided to demolish the jail and build a new facility for Juvenile Court with the Houghton school serving as office and classroom space for programs to combat juvenile delinquency.
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Chief Superior Court Judge Carl Brown is in hot water with the Georgia Judicial Qualifying Commission over his efforts to intervene and save the jail and convert its courtrooms into use by the Juvenile Court.
The local film community and at least one commissioner are not happy with the current plans, either, and want to bring the matter back before the full commission.
“They are looking at spending some $30 million to build a new juvenile court facility,” says District 10 Commissioner John Clarke, “when we could spend around $2 million to fix the courtrooms that are already there.”
Courtney Davis, who is an office production assistant for movies filmed in Augusta, is also against tearing the building down and makes the case that the old jail has already proven its worth as a film set.
“The building can be used as a set for scenes requiring jail cells, office and courtroom backdrops and even hospital sets,” she says. “It is very versatile, and that is what film companies look for.”
Davis says the film industry generally employs 70 people for each production, of which around 40 are local contractors.
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“They provide local jobs,” she says, “and they bring in people from out of town who stay in our hotels, visit our bars and restaurants, and they use local caterers for craft services. So, the impact on the local economy can be huge.”
According to Davis, prior to the COVID-29 pandemic, three movies were filmed in Augusta with two of them using the jail for scenes, and there are plans on tap for at least three more movies and a television program. She also hints that the installation of Christmas lights downtown by Netflix could be a sign the major studio is interested in filming in the city.
Despite the commission’s vote to go ahead with the demolition, Clarke says he is not giving up on saving the building and wants to bring the matter back to the commission.
“I will continue to fight,” he says.
Clarke says that if the city moves forward with the demolition, he will bring fireworks to the event to highlight what he calls “a really big mistake.”
Scott Hudson is the Managing Editor of The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
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