New retail developments are in the works for Augusta.
A commercial shopping center is planned for Jimmie Dyess Parkway, a business park is scheduled for Flowing Wells Road and a strip mall could take shape on Washington Road, according to records from the city's planning and zoning department.
The projects are bright spots in what has generally been a slow environment for retail plans, Planning Commission Director George Patty said.
"As far as any big retail activities, we keep getting the same vibes," Patty said, adding that some retailers are putting off construction or expansion plans.
Of the three planned projects, the largest retail area is a commercial shopping center along Dyess Parkway, which would be on 24.5 acres of land. Developers said they are not yet ready to discuss the project.
Flowing Wells Business Park will be in the 1200 block and will include retail and professional spaces near the front of the project, in addition to corporate offices and warehouse services, said Richard Bailey, the owner of Bailey Development LLC.
"We will be moving our scale company (Georgia Scale) over there," he said. "That will be one of the anchor tenants."
Bailey said he hopes to break ground on the project sometime in 2011 and complete it within five years. The 10 buildings will take up 150,000 square feet, he said.
The third development is in the 2800 block of Washington Road and would eventually replace Do Gas Station, which sells non-ethanol gas, said H. Clyde Canon, the architect for the project. The strip mall would have room for about three businesses that could include establishments such as a liquor store or takeout restaurant, Canon said.
Owner Mike Dat Do said he thought it was time to make a change.
"It's not good business to be a gas station," he said.
"...a strip mall could take shape on Washington Road...would have room for about three businesses that could include establishments such as a liquor store..."
WOO HOO! Another strip mall with a liquor store! Just what this town needs! Just be sure to fill the other two spaces with a cell phone dealer and a dollar store!
Also, Mike Dat Do, is that your REAL name?
Does Augusta have any type of planning department or is it simply anything goes. Washington Rd is already way overdeveloped....one of the ugliest commercial strips around. Way too many budget motels jammed in, curb cuts every 100 feet, so many signs; one sign blocks out the next...so excuse me if I am not too excited about a liquor store and 2 other spaces on Washington Road
I agree about the appearance of Washington Rd., FloridaSun. And to answer your question; Augusta and Columbia County both use the "planning by developer" model to determine where new business and subdivisions go. It makes things easier on the elected officials because they don't have to say, "No," and they get plenty of gifts.
I appreciate the fact that Mr. Do ran that gas station for as long as he has. I purchased a decent amount of his no-ethanol gasoline. It's better for your engines and you get a little better mileage than you do with ethanol-blended gasoline. He was in a tough location, with two Circle K's around him like buzzards.
Does anyone know where to buy no-ethanol gas now that Mr. Do is closing down?
I wonder whether Mr. Do has done any quality market research regarding his choice to replace a gas station/convenience store with a liquor store/take-out restaurant. There are plenty of liquor stores and take-out restaurants just short distances from his location.
He needs to think about the fact that just across the side street from his location that the "Raisin' Cane" restaurant chain took a bath.
Whatever happened to the giant project @ Riverwatch and I-20? I drive by it and see no activity.
squee! I know Dixieman, it makes me so happy! Little Lamb @ 8:17 Raisin' Cane's couldn't compete with the establistments offering better fare or lower prices. Seriously, $7 for freaking chicken strips, and you're going to charge me EXTRA for sauce? C'mon now, thats an "unsustainable business model"
I'm excited about the Jimmie Dyess shopping center... Besides the Zaxby's there isn't much shopping/restaurants in the area... 25 acres is a good chunk of land. Let's pray it's not another Walmart, I'll settle for a Publix and Target though..
I agree Washington road needs more condos, offices, townhomes, and less strip malls.. But most of the old hotels are being tore or renovated.. The Super 8 next to Dunkin Donuts was recently renovated... Also there's always going to be new hotels in the area. The $25 million Sheraton opened in Dec 2009 and the Holiday Inn Express looks complete...
Countyman wrote:
Washington road needs more condos, offices, townhomes, and less strip malls...
I say that Washington Road needs more trees and greenspace and fewer condos, offices, townhomes, strip malls, car dealerships, restaurants, motels, and self-storage warehouses.
Dixieman, the Bass Pro website still has the VAR as their location.. Click on Augusta..
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?appID=94&storeI...
Washington road isn't really building any more motels or strip malls... This is the first new strip mall I've seen in a long time. I definitely haven't seen any new motels being built. The Sheraton and Holiday Inn Express are the newest hotels... The Four Points by Sheraton might start construction sometime soon...
The masters parking area is a huge, nice, and open area....
The Flowing Wells Business Park is a great invesment.. It's located in a fast growing area... Next to ADP, Parc at Flowing Wells, new retirement community, Highland Ridge, T-Mobile, etc.... Imagine when ADP breaks ground on their second facility... This area of West Augusta is going to grow like crazy....
The old food lion shopping center(next to I-Hop) on washington road... Augusta National owns the property and will demolished the center... They already have construction going on off Washington road near the shopping center.
What is your point in your last post, Countyman?
Dear City of Augusta
Please plant trees along Washington Rd. Please don't plant the trees in June and expect them to survive an Augusta summer without water. Plant the trees in October and let the roots establish before the summer heat returns. You will still need to water the trees though.
If you can find the money for Mr Morris' TEE Center please find money for trees on Washington Rd.
Please try to use common sense on what is developed on Washington Rd....I just don't see how a new liquor store on Washington Road is going to be an improvement
Thank you
Littlelamb... My earlier post meant the strip malls on washington road are disappearing.... Anything on washington road that's not fairly new is going bye bye.. I expect to see a renovation of the Stein-Mart shopping center... The older motels and the Greens apartment complex won't last for long...
Florida, If I may, I'd like to add to your letter:
Also, dear wonderful City of Augusta, please adopt some sort of business signage ordinance like Aiken or North Augusta so places like Washington Rd don't have signs and billboards poking every-which-way and jutting up into the sky, it looks like an advertising firm threw up everywhere. Also, please tell developers that putting curb cuts/driveways every 5 feet is rather excessive.
Thank You!
The TEE center was approved by the voters... I do agree Washington road can use some streetscape projects...
The article said the strip mall would have three businesses, and one could be a liquor store.. There's no evidence a liquor store is actual coming...
Wrong countyman.. an overall SPLOST was approved by voters of which a $20 million TEE Center was one of ther many items on the list. Voters didn't have the option to choose what projects they thought were deserving and which ones were not of our tax dollars. Politicians love to sneak their pet projects onto SPLOSTS because its an up and down vote.. you vote against SPLOST and you are forced to throw the good out with the bad. That being said.. that $20 million TEE project that voters approved by passing SPLOST somehow balooned into a $40 million project with a $17 million parking deck and $45 million in additional spending to buy off Betty Beard's vote.
Emerydan... If the RC voters didn't want a Tee Center... Voters would have rejected the entire splost package. Until the commissioneers came back with a splost that didn't include a Tee Center...
The Tee Center brought a $30 million Hyatt, 3 story office building, and GA dot decided to repaved Reynolds street, because you can't have a bunch of new buildings with a raggedy road..
Mr Do needs to do more research. The proximity of the location is too close to Big Tree Package (next to Kroger) and Harban's on Boy Scout to qualify for the liquor license ordinance in Augusta Richmond County.
Winesellr, what is the minimum distance between liquor stores and so on?
Don't forget there's a third nearby store on Stevens Creek Rd.
Riverman1- The nearest a liquor store can be in relation to another in Richmond County is a mile and a half. There is an exception with Walton Way Spirits & Summerville Ace as they are "grandfathered".
I wish Mr Do would open up a vietnamese restaurant instead.. that would be different and welcomed. Maybe a place specializes in Pho (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) and those vietanamese sandwiches on frence baguette rolls.. yum.
It looks like Mr. Do wants to be a passive landlord. An upscale restaurant is too much work.
That's interesting information, Winesellr; and it makes sense. I wish Richmond and Columbia County would pass similar distance regulations for other businesses. For example, isn't it crazy to put three drugstores at a four-corner intersection? How about that mania that the grocery stores have about insisting on head-to-head competition in the same area (a la Furys Ferry Rd. has an Earth Fare, a Publix, a Bi-Lo and a Food Lion on a mile-and-a-half stretch — on Washington Rd. you've got the Kroger directly across the street from the Publix — in Evans you've got the Publix and the Food Lion and the Kroger and the Wal-Mart very close together).
Also, look at the insanity of having three optical stores in a quarter-mile stretch of Bobby Jones.
But the worst example of planning is the big-box hardware stores, i.e., Home Depot and Lowes. You have four of them in a tiny area from Bobby Jones to Bel Air Rd.
It would be nicer to spread out stores of same type instead of clumping them all together.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
