B2B Stories

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Awards

Local hotel receives “Best of” Award

The Baymont by Wyndham Augusta Riverwatch has been awarded the annual “Best of Baymont” Award which recognizes the brand’s top-performing hotels and their staff. In celebration of the achievement, hotel owner, Kanta K.R. Kondur accepted the award from Greg Giordano, Company Brand Leader and Vice President of Operations and Wyndham Hotel & Resorts Leadership. “We are so proud to receive this honor, as our team has worked incredibly hard to consistently deliver a high level of service to our guests,” said Kondur. “This award is a testament to the dedication

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B2B Stories

Financing for new hospital in place

Funding for the construction of the new Columbia County hospital in Grovetown has passed its last step. Attorney Jim Driver told members of the Columbia County Hospital Authority they successfully closed on the $375 million bond and construction is underway. Crews have been clearing the land in anticipation of the start of construction. “The main role is going to be for you to sit on their board, and also to get the quarterly financials. None of that is triggered until they have a certificate of occupancy,” he explained. The series

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B2B Stories

Fastest growing CSRA counties

A couple of Georgia counties were the fastest growing of the 360 largest counties in the nation in the third quarter of 2023. Clayton County (Jonesboro) had the largest percentage increase in average weekly wages at 7.7% and Hall County (Gainesville) had the largest percentage increase in employment at 5.4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In the Augusta Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), Lincoln County saw the largest increase in wages and employment. Wages increased 4.6% from the third quarter of 2022 and employment increased 6.6% in September 2023

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B2B Stories

Subdividing huge Augusta Building

WOW! Commercial Real Estate agent, Scott Brantley of the Beman Group recently placed an anchor tenant in the vacant, former WOW call center located at 3674 Wheeler Rd. Brantley executed a 10-year multi-option lease with Circle City ABA for the medical services provider to take about 1/3rd of the large office building. “We were able to work with our client (owner) to find a way to offer less space to multiple tenants instead of having to find someone willing to lease the entire 27,000 square feet. This company originated in

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B2B Stories

Flying high from Augusta to Augusta!

Two new partnerships connected to Augusta Regional Airport were announced during Thursday’s Fifth Annual Innovation XChange Forum, including one that will introduce air taxis. Bravo Air, the private air charter operator based at Augusta Regional, is working with SkyDrive, a Tokyo-based Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company. The company builds a variety of drones, and recently began production of electric-powered aircraft. Bravo Air has signed a letter of intent to purchase up to five of the aircraft. “Stephanie Henson (Bravo Air Managing Partner) and I recently visited SkyDrive’s team in Japan

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B2B Podcasting

Best Biz Bits of the Week!

Today, ABD begins a new feature. We asked our Mike Petchenik to cull through the best biz bits of the week. He found an update from a major Augusta employer, growth from a big box retailer in the CSRA, and a deal that propels a local realtor onto the national scene.

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B2B Podcasting

$700 million Augusta investment

Paper and packaging go together like a well-wrapped gift, which is why a Washington-based paper company bought a local packaging company. Mike Petchenik has the details in today’s Biz Bits.

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B2B Stories

Addressing Augusta’s quality of life and economic health

Augusta is one of five cities chosen for a program focused on neighborhood housing conditions. The Georgia Initiative for Community Housing (GICH), offered through the state’s Department of Community Affairs, will provide training and technical assistance. Hawthorne Welcher, Jr., Director of Augusta-Richmond County Housing and Development told ABD his department will work with the Carl Vinson Institute at the University of Georgia (UGA) to create a housing plan. “One of the things that I would like to see as we go through this process is that the technical assistance is

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B2B Stories

Veteran wins big at Fort Eisenhower PX

Retired Staff Sgt. James Mabry uses his MILITARY STAR® card whenever he shops at the Fort Eisenhower Exchange because he likes earning rewards points on his purchases. A swipe of the card late last year led to an entirely different reward: having his entire card balance paid off. Mabry was randomly selected as one of five grand prize winners in the 10th Annual MILITARY STAR Your Holiday Bill Is on Us sweepstakes. He was presented with a mock check representing his $8,122.50 balance—now paid in full—during a celebration at the Fort Eisenhower

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B2B Stories

Multi-million dollar hiring plan

One of the Augusta area’s largest employers is hanging out the “Help Wanted” sign. Augusta University’s targeted student enrollment growth means the university itself needs to grow. Just over $6 million will be allocated for the immediate addition of 43 new faculty, 24 new full-time staff, two temporary positions, and 42 new student-worker positions. A portion will be used to add infrastructure supporting the new hires. The university needs additional faculty and staff after notching a student enrollment of 10,546 for fall 2023. That is a 7.5% increase over fall

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