Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 7

83 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 7 the Convention & Visitors Bureau that makes sure tourism activities align with our economic development activities. Including the City and the Augusta Chamber, we now have five groups working in lock-step to retain, attract and support businesses in their growth. “In fact, Augusta was just named by Yahoo Finance as 17th out of 150 of the top major metropolitan cities with the lowest cost of living and the greatest return on investment for residents (from the city taxes they pay). That’s a testament to Augusta and the work of those four entities in concert with the city. In the midst of the pandemic, people elsewhere cut back on their use of the downtowns, but our leadership and elected officials were focused on having a business-friendly and inviting community and that has been crucial for Augusta and our partners.” BVM: How is your housing inventory? Donald: “There are very few houses available for sale in the entire county. Housing is one of our biggest challenges and opportunities. We have been good partners with developers supporting the creation of diverse single family and mixed- use housing, including rental units. Our Mayor and Commission recently approved a real estate development consisting of 66 units where only seven of those are non-affordable housing units. That project, called Kendrick Place, is extremely encouraging at a time when affordable housing options are scarce. We’ve also created a pathway to make that area more attractive by bringing on a market-rate community called Beacon Station. “The Commission also recently passed the first comprehensive blight ordinance in Augusta’s history. This gives us another tool to mitigate the negative impacts of blight on our residential housing stock and ensures that our dormant commercial properties have the necessary improvements to come back onto our tax roles and serve as catalysts to improve communities. AUGUSTA , GEORGI A Those combined efforts help us change the face of our housing and commercial markets, while remaining affordable. I think that’s the piece that is extremely important to our long-term future.” BVM: How would you sum up the focus of the city going forward? Donald: Affordability combined with ease of travel access, an attractive business environment for the relocation and expansion of business and industry make Augusta ‘where you want to be.’ The visionary leadership of Augusta’s 84th Mayor Hardie Davis and our visionary Commission have our region on course for a wonderful future.”