Downtown Augusta continues to experience steady growth, as many businesses plan to open or relocate to that part of town.
ABD has learned the historic Red Star Building – (see photo at top) to a mixed-use building located at 531 James Brown Blvd., has been sold to Tyson Schuetze, founder of Auben Realty, for $1.25 million. The sale was handled by the Beman Group with Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate Co. Commercial. “They’re going to make some improvements to move their offices there,” says Davis Beman, the group’s principal and the company’s Director of Commercial Real Estate. It opened in 1921 as the Palace Theatre, and many businesses have occupied the space over the last century. Beman explains the building currently has only one tenant, M. Austin Jackson Attorney at Law. Jackson specializes in personal injury cases. The two-story building has 12,000 square feet of retail space, which includes four apartments.
Security Federal Bank will open a new branch in the 1100 block of Broad St. The bank was founded in 1922 in Aiken and currently has 17 branches, including three 7-day banking locations, throughout the CSRA and Columbia. For more information about the bank and its locations, visit securityfederalbank.com.
Mosquito Shield – an outdoor pest control company, is now open in Augusta. The company provides protection against pesky mosquitoes and ticks for residential and commercial buildings. Their business is located at 1501 Broad St. For more information, visit moshield.com or call 706-603-3050.
A commercial building located at 1005 Broad St. is up for sale. The three-story building has about 15,000 square feet of space, but it is 73% occupied, according to a newsletter from the Beman Group. “There is approximately 1,000 square feet of built-out vacancy on the first floor with an additional 3,000 square feet of raw space located on the third floor,” the article states. “An investor would have the opportunity to build out and lease these spaces at current market rates.” Current tenants include SRP Federal Credit Union and Benesch, an engineering firm.
Janie Peel – Director of Sales and Commercial Leasing for Auben Realty, says downtown Augusta is experiencing growth because so many people visit businesses in that area. “One of the reasons that business growth is steadily increasing downtown is because it has become a popular outdoor recreational, festival, and dining destination,” states Peel. “We have a trendy, easy to maneuver city that draws on many types of architecture, adequate utilities, natural resources, low cost of living, and great tax incentives.”