Columbia County is getting ready for the design, RFP, and construction phase in renovating the Savannah Rapids Pavilion.
In the early morning hours of Sept. 27, 2024, Metro Augusta experienced something it had never had before: a direct hit by a hurricane.
The extent of damage was being tallied across the region in the days that followed. One of the most popular venues for meetings and events was among the heavily damaged buildings.
Savannah Rapids Pavilion, noted for its large, glass windows, sits 80 feet high on the bluff overlooking the Savannah River.
Steven Prather, Facility Services Director, told ABD, while the structure was hit by falling trees, the more extensive damage was not caused by the storm.
“The damage inside, because of the tree hitting a fire suppression line, essentially flooded a lot of the building and caused water damage, so we have gutted the building,” he explained. “We’ve abated it and made sure there’s no mold, and we’ve basically sealed it up, and it’s been sitting while we expedited our design and renovation process.”
Columbia County brought in crews from Servpro to get the 25,000 square foot structure secured with standing water and damage removed.
“They were there to help mitigate and get rid of our moisture and kind of take out anything that was going to grow mold or have anything to do with any kind of moisture from the water line being busted,” said Prather.
Prather said they are about 95% finished with the design phase. The inspections included engineers with a skill set specific to the construction of the building.
“We hired architects, and the architect hires consultants. This project, because of its location and on top of the hill, on top of the rock, we hired many different consultants, like geotechnical engineers and structural engineers,” he said.
While the pavilion remains closed and surrounded by security fencing, Savannah Rapids Park was reopened about six weeks after the hurricane. The playground, visitors center, Bicycle Peddler, and Savannah Rapids Kayak are available for the public to enjoy.
The building has been in use since the early 1990s. Columbia County had already included $8 million for renovations and upgrades from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) money.
“The building does not have an elevator, so that was one of the key elements that we wanted to add,” said Prather. “We’ve expanded some deck space, some covered deck area for pre-function spaces. But the building needed a facelift. It needed windows and doors painted. The HVAC equipment was starting to fail. All new roofing. We’re upgrading the building completely with all new systems, new partitions, lighting, IT, and infrastructure. The commercial kitchens that people use when catering will all be updated with new equipment.”
Once the design phase is complete, the county will be able to draw up construction documents, post a Request for Proposals (RFP), and begin soliciting bids. Prather anticipates that could happen in about two months, with the hope that construction will begin by early 2026.
“We’ve limited the extent of the renovations to still give you that tree house feel and that warm kind of fuzzy cabin feel, but we’ve updated it to these lighter colors and more sunlight and better feel inside, to kind of modernize it, but it still has that rustic cabin feel,” he said. “I think it’ll be a great space for all the events, just modern amenities and an elevator and more bathrooms, and it’ll just enhance that space.”
