There was reason to celebrate this past Thursday night on Broad Street: We saw the continuing wave of new private investment in downtown Augusta.

COMING ON THE heels of ESi, Toole Engineering and R.W. Allen's renovations, Metro Construction Group realized their dream of restoring the former J.B. White building exactly one year to the date of beginning. The building, which has sat vacant for more than two decades, is now one of the most spectacular multi-use redevelopments we have ever seen. The project -- which houses residences, offices, restaurants and retail -- will set the bar for future development in downtown Augusta.

What you probably know is that the developers are from Atlanta, paid fair market price for the building and have had many challenges. Here is what you don't know: Sherwin Loudermilk and Mike Raeisghasem instantly became a part of our community. They were cash sponsors in the amount of $2,500 for our new downtown Christmas decorations as well as cash sponsors for the Saturday Market on the River. You can find the two of them and their families every Saturday selling lemonade to patrons, with the proceeds going to special causes. The first week's catch, $64, was donated to the new library.

Finally, at Thursday's grand opening, it was announced that they were enrolling their children in school for the fall and moving in the building this weekend until construction of their homes are complete. What a statement that makes. Two outsiders saw the greatness of our city. Welcome home to the Loudermilks and the Raeisghasems.

There will be more reason to celebrate in the near future. Harry Kitchen of the Foxfield Co. will bring a new 60,000-square-foot, Class A office building out of the ground on the city's Pension Property. We have not seen new upscale construction in downtown Augusta since the early 1990s. This multi-use project also will include a new hotel and luxury condominiums.

WHAT YOU PROBABLY know is he is a very a successful developer from Bluffton, S.C.; is well-known in the South; has agreed to pay fair market value and all associated Realtor fees for the parcel; and has had many challenges because the site was heavily contaminated.

Here is what you don't know: The city was ultimately responsible for the cleanup of the site. Harry not only coordinated the entire effort, but paid $200,000 of his own capital toward the cleanup. We now have a beautiful clean site on the river, and when the Environmental Protection Agency permits are in hand, he will begin marketing the project. He has spent $250,000 on feasibility studies and site design plans. With an unwavering hand, he wrote a check for $5,000 for our new downtown Christmas decorations, and the pretty young blond teenagers on the city float for the Christmas parade were his daughters.

What a statement that makes. A man who has roots here -- his father attended Richmond Academy -- saw the potential not only of a site that has sat vacant for years, but in the greatness of our city. We welcome Mr. Kitchen to our community as a visionary and a collaborative partner.

Finally, we welcome Cortland Dusseau from Birmingham, Ala. What you probably know is that he is the hotel developer for the new multi-use project near Augusta Common. This new project will contain not only a hotel, but condominiums and retail space as well. He has paid fair market value for the parcels involved. And yes, he will have challenges as well.

HERE IS WHAT you don't know: He has agreed to salvage and incorporate as much of the old jail into the new facade; has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on feasibility studies and site design plans; and waited more than two decades to do a project in downtown Augusta. Why? He saw the greatness in our city -- and what a statement that makes.

(The writers are, respectively, the chairman of the Downtown Development Authority of Augusta; and the president of Augusta Tomorrow.)