Commercial Real Estate

Several more commercial leasing units are on the market for businesspeople, who especially have a need for both office and industrial space. A construction company, manufacturer, and distribution company are all in final negotiations to lease a flexible amount of space in the Trade Center Court in Augusta, according to developer/leasing agent Southeastern. The four buildings are ready for lease in 1500 square feet blocks all the way up to a 7500 square foot space for a total of 25,500 square feet. It’s located ¼ mile west of the I-20

Mixed-use buildings are experiencing a surge in popularity. This trend reflects a departure from traditional single-use buildings, as developers and investors increasingly recognize the benefits of blending residential, office, and retail spaces within one structure. There is a new building available in Downtown Augusta with available office space. As ABD continues to report on new faces and places in Downtown Augusta including The Earth Pantry, a grocery store that opened in November at 1026 Broad Street, the heart of the city is painting the picture of a place to work,

The former three-story WAGT building at 905 Broad Street is looking for another business to occupy it. For a little more than a year, a retail liquidation company hawked department store-type bargains inside the first floor and outside on the sidewalk, next to Laziza’s Restaurant. The Wholesale and Retail Bargain Merchandise store has moved near the Kroc Center at 1661 Broad Street in Augusta. They offer up to 75% off on various items that were returned to Amazon, Target, Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, and other retailers. For more information visit, www.bargainmerchandises.com

The newly opened DG Market at 180 East Milledgeville Road in Harlem, GA. is bringing nearby residents the opportunity to access fresh produce and meats, among other common household items. The location in Harlem is one of over 2,000 DG Markets in the country and the store’s opening has contributed to area employment. “The DG Market provides a one-stop shopping opportunity,” said a statement shared by Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate. “Shoppers have access to home accessories, wellness options, cleaning supplies, home goods, and more. The DG Market also offers

For nearly 80 years, movers have rented trucks from U-Haul, which has announced its plans to open a new moving and storage facility in Augusta, according to Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate. The new facility will be located on a 10.76-acre property at 1070 Claussen Road between Washington Road and River Watch Parkway. An article from the company’s website said U-Haul anticipates construction will be completed by June 2024. It will offer many products and services, including not only truck rentals, but also moving supplies, more than 700 self-storage units,

A longtime Aiken shopping center is now home to a new restaurant and will soon gain another tenant, according to Meybohm Commercial Properties. The Feed Sack located at 1593 Whiskey Road recently opened in Mitchell Center, which was built in 1958. The restaurant serves a variety of menu items, including seafood, salads, sandwiches, and hamburgers. The Feed Sack is open for lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch. This fall, Lotus Beauty will also move into the more than 95,000-square-foot shopping center, which contains Dollar General, MattressMan, and Rent-A-Center locations. Lotus Beauty

Tracy Carter has a passion for commercial real estate, which is what prompted her to launch her own company that focuses strictly on commercial leasing. Carter, an agent with Keller Williams Realty who’s licensed in both Georgia and South Carolina, opened CSRA Commercial Spaces, LLC in early July to help businesses find buildings and landlords find tenants. “I’ve been here for 30 years and I saw a need,” she said. Carter said other real estate companies have commercial divisions, but she doesn’t know of another local company that doesn’t also

A property near the intersection of Davis and Washington roads in Martinez is on its way to becoming a new shopping center. The former Green Thumb Nursery building and land at 110 Davis Road were purchased by a shopping center investor who contracted with Clifton Construction to build a 26,000-square-foot center on the property. While Thompson Wrecking Company finishes demolition work, Clifton Construction is beginning site work and construction and Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate is starting the pre-leasing process. Jordan Trotter is offering spaces for $20 per square foot,

A local business owner and investor has added three more properties to his growing portfolio of dozens in downtown Augusta. Rafy Bassali has purchased 1293, 1296, and 1297 Broad St., according to the Finem Group with Meyboym Commercial Properties, which represented the seller in this transaction. Bassali, who owns the building next door to these businesses, said all three are currently occupied. “It’s the gateway to downtown Augusta, and I think in the future, it can be beautified,” he said. The Girl Cave Boutique occupies 1293 Broad St.; Johnson, Laschober

Every New Year’s Eve and July 4, many people flock to fireworks shows or shoot them off at home. Brent Munnerlyn, a South Carolina fireworks entrepreneur, plans to capitalize on people’s fascination with these visual displays by bringing what he calls a new business concept to the CSRA. Munnerlyn, owner of Munnerlyn Pyrotechnics based in Lexington, will open the new store on River Watch Parkway and Claussen Road near I-20, according to Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate. Juli Means, Marketing Director for Jordan Trotter, said this store is not to

No matter where you go in the CSRA, you’re likely to see a Meybohm Commercial Properties sign, but that will soon be the case in the Greater Savannah area as well. The company just opened a new office in that area on Friday, March 18. It will serve not only Savannah, but also its surrounding towns, including Pooler, Statesboro, and Bluffton. Jordan Kim is the agent in the new Savannah office. Meybohm Commercial offers a variety of services, such as sales, development, and property management. The company has offices on

Neil Gordon tells us about a longtime construction company that is relocating its headquarters to a downtown location.

A tight real estate market couldn’t keep Meybohm Real Estate from setting company records in 2021. Although people often complained that “There’s nothing to buy,” Meybohm grew its residential sales by 25.3 percent and commercial sales by 73 percent. Overall, the company grew by 19 percent company-wide over its previous best year in 2020. Meybohm sold an average of 14.3 homes per day and had $1.67 billion in sales across all divisions. Meybohm announced these accomplishments at their Annual Awards Gala on Friday night at the Columbia County Performing Arts

Visitors to the Augusta area will soon have a new hotel option in Columbia County. A Maryland-based hotel development group has purchased a 2.7-acre lot and plans to build a new Fairfield by Marriott hotel (see photo above provided by Meybohm) near I-20 in Grovetown. Construction on the hotel, which will be located next to Home2 Suites near both Kroger and Walmart, is expected to begin by the end of the year. Meybohm Commercial Properties represented the development group in purchasing the land. Fairfield has nearly 1,000 locations worldwide, including

Next year, construction will begin on renovating one of Augusta University’s libraries, according to Dr. Neil MacKinnon, the University’s Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. Improvements on the Greenblatt Library – located on the Health Sciences campus, will include a new café/coffee shop and a new entrance on Laney Walker Boulevard, as well as expanded student services. According to Dr. MacKinnon, construction is expected to be completed by September 2022.

Two longtime Columbia County service providers are taking the holidays off for the first time in decades. In today’s business video minute, Publisher Neil Gordon says it was just time for a change.

After 25 years in business, a local liquor store has been listed for sale for $1.9 million. According to a newsletter from the Beman Group with Blanchard & Calhoun Real Estate Company, the owners of Harvard’s Wine & Beverage, located at 110 Old Evans Road near the intersection of Bobby Jones Expressway and Washington Road, are ready to retire. The more than 9,000-square-foot store, which opened in 1996, carries a wide selection of alcoholic beverages, including wine, beer, and liquor. There’s also a second location at 145 Kings Grant Drive

Editor’s Note: Don Lawrence and his company have been helping Augusta Business Daily to sub-lease unused offices at the building we lease at 930 Stevens Creek Road. He’s leased three executive suites for us and I thought if he can help ABD, perhaps he can help your company! Have you ever walked around your CSRA office building and seen a lot of rooms with the lights off and no one there? Do you ever think that space is being wasted? Even after the pandemic, more employees are working from home

Early next year, Chad Harpley will move his company to a new 14,000-square-foot facility in Augusta, and 2,500 square feet of that space is currently available for lease. Harpley – President and Chief Executive Officer of Premier Networx – is relocating his information technology and cybersecurity firm from its current address at 4332 Wheeler Road #105 to 116 Cooper Drive off Riverwatch Parkway next door to Elegant Bridals. He says the building, which is currently under construction, is scheduled to open Jan. 3. “It’s a state-of-the-art cybersecurity center,” Harpley states.

After eight years in Evans and 20 in Martinez under the watch of “Buffalo Vince” Tedhams, the Buffalo Brakes brand just came to a screeching halt. Owners Becky and Larry Griffith made the difficult decision to close recently. “We are under contract (to a non-automotive business) and should close by the end of the year,” said Becky, who served as office manager of Buffalo Brakes for eight years— the last couple full-time. For the former beauty shop owner—the closing is emotional. ” The people of Columbia County were great. I

Each month, ABD will interview J. Brian King – our Business Attorney, about a business law topic. Yesterday, we asked him a few questions about leases for entrepreneurs. We think our readers will benefit from his legal insight and advice. ABD: What advice would you give a new entrepreneur about leasing a location for their business? Brian: First of all, do some research on the type of rental space you think you need in the market where you want to be located. Find out what the going rate is for

Death of a technology leader in CSRA Today’s “buzz” begins with the death of a respected former journalist and successful CSRA technology business owner Jimmy Bennett. He spent 20 years writing and editing for community newspapers in Statesboro, Eastman, Jessup and Canton. He became the editor of True Citizen newspaper in Waynesboro, GA before going into the computer business. Bennett died last week due to complications from Covid-19. My last email exchange with him showed me how much he still cared about local journalism. “Chuck Smith has joined the growing

From time to time Publisher Neil Gordon will share a Video business minute (or less) to update you on unique happenings. Today, a new development in a (very old) building in Aiken County.

The wrecking crew industry missed out on a couple of big jobs recently when one private investment company and one local government bought historic buildings to give them completely new purposes. Warren Mill The 130-year-old Warren Mill, the former center of community life in Warrenville, S.C., has sold for $1.6 million with plans to turn the former three-shift clothing factory into 180 to 200 apartments with a swimming pool, an events center and other amenities, according to several recent reports. Warren Mill has been vacant since 1982. The new owner

When we get together with a business owner and start the process of selling their company, some of the same general questions come up. How much will a buyer pay for my business? How long will it take to sell? Who is the best buyer? The first two questions are a bit subjective, but the best buyer question is almost always someone who is not currently operating a business in your industry. To many business owners, they are a bit surprised to hear a competitor or someone looking to gain

We have all seen the news. The residential real estate market is hot and it’s a great time to be a seller. What about the commercial office market? If you own an office building, I’m sure you want to know if your value is still there. If you lease office space you probably need to know if the rent is going up next time you renew, or will you be able to find new space when you move? The pandemic did shut down the office market for a while last

Jason Wiles is optimistic about future growth in commercial real estate in Richmond County. Wiles – Chief Executive Officer and owner of CSRA Home Solutions, owns several rental properties, mostly in South Augusta. “I primarily own single-family (homes), but I just purchased two duplexes,” he says. “I see most of the developments being commercial,” such as apartments and townhomes, rather than single-family neighborhoods. Wiles attended the first day of the Augusta Land Development Conference on Wednesday, Oct. 6 at the Kroc Center. He came to the conference to find out

A two-day conference in Augusta will allow local real estate investors and developers to share ideas and discuss future land development projects in the CSRA. The Augusta Land Development Conference, hosted by the Augusta, Georgia Land Bank Authority, will be held at the Kroc Center on Wednesday, Oct. 6 and Thursday, Oct. 7 from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Speakers will include representatives from the Augusta Economic Development Authority, Housing and Urban Development, and the Center for Community Progress. A flyer for

Death of a technology leader in CSRA Today’s “buzz” begins with the death of a respected former journalist and successful CSRA technology business owner Jimmy Bennett. He spent 20 years writing and editing for community newspapers in Statesboro, Eastman, Jessup and Canton. He became the editor of True Citizen newspaper in Waynesboro, GA before going into the computer business. Bennett died last week due to complications from Covid-19. My last email exchange with him showed me how much he still cared about local journalism. “Chuck Smith has joined the growing

North Augusta will soon be home to a new QuikTrip gas station and convenience store location. The new store will be located on a 14.3-acre lot located at 930 Edgefield Road near four of its future competitors: Kangaroo Express, Exxon, Circle K, and Sprint Foods. Besides gas, it will also sell pizza, coffee, and a variety of slushies. According to the company’s website, QuikTrip was founded in 1958 and currently has 850 stores in 11 states, including Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Some locations also have QT Kitchens, which serve

When Thompson Building Wrecking Company Inc. was founded in Augusta, John F. Kennedy was president of the United States. Located at 631 11th St., the family-owned business offers a variety of services for both residential and commercial customers, including demolition, asbestos testing and removal, and roll-off container rentals. “We have a recycling yard also,” which is located in Beech Island, says Susan Juker, Thompson’s roll-off/office manager. That facility recycles concrete and asphalt. The company’s roll-off containers are available for short-term and long-term use at residential and commercial construction sites. Their

Many local residents have wondered if Dave & Buster’s was coming to Augusta. ABD has learned the company has broken ground in the Village at Riverwatch, which also contains Cabela’s, Costco Wholesale, and Riverwatch Cinemas. A representative from Jordan Trotter Commercial Real Estate, which sold the property, has confirmed Dave & Buster’s is currently clearing their land to build a new indoor entertainment complex, sports bar, and restaurant adjacent to Top Golf. (see photo above by Melissa Gordon) She doesn’t have a specific timeline for construction and opening of the

A new, indoor, climate-controlled storage facility is in the middle of the demolition phase, with the hopes of a Grand Opening in the next several months. Chaplin and Sons in Augusta is demolishing the interior of the far left plaza on Walton Way Extension (see photo above) that used to be home to Aqua Salon, Harris Teeter and then Gold’s Gym. Most recently, Poteet and Sons had offices for their crematory division of the funeral home inside the former Aqua Salon building. Poteet moved to Shaw Street in Martinez and

A construction crew is working to clear out the former Atlanta Bread Company building located at 255 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway next to Panda Express. The restaurant, which serves sandwiches, salads, and soups, opened in the Augusta Exchange Shopping Center in 1998 and closed in May 2019. The closest Atlanta Bread is in Greenville, as the other CSRA location on Whiskey Road in Aiken closed in November, 2017. ABD visited the location and spoke with members of the construction crew, but they didn’t know if another business will move

The main house on the Lamar Plantation was built in 1850. The property later became Haskell’s Dairy. (Photo courtesy of Turner Development, LLC) Tracey Turner, an African American businessman, has big plans for a historic site in North Augusta that may change the course of black history in the CSRA and in South Carolina. Turner – owner of the Washington, D.C.-based Turner Development, LLC and a native of Aiken County – plans to build a 419-unit mixed-use development like the Hammond’s Ferry neighborhood in North Augusta on a 185-acre lot

Several members of the community grabbed a shovel in the groundbreaking ceremony. (Photo by Josh Heath) Augusta native Oscar A. Jessie wants to bring greater economic growth to South Augusta. That’s why Jessie, a real estate developer and owner of GreenSpace Communities LLC, has made a nearly $5 million investment in the planned construction of a 7.8 acre, 44-unit townhome development called Orchard Landing at 3699 Peach Orchard Road. “We’re looking forward to moving forward from this point,” he says. Jessie plans to move quickly and hopes to have the