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Regency Mall


perrykat

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Maybe this church can make it work (like the Lakewood Church in Houston that renovated the old coloseum), but I'm betting this is a mistake. Around the country, it seems that last signs of a inner-suburb's final demise is when church's overtake former retail sites. Architecturally, they just don't work and just look cheap. The church is removed from any community by a parking lot, so it's "services" tend to focus only on its members. No net gain for the neighborhood at all. And inside, ceilings are often too low and the acoustics are terrible (maybe that's not the case here since the Mong. Ward building was two stories). Also, will the church have the finances to maintain the grounds, pay for security and upkeep of such a large property?

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Im not sure how large the congregation of this church is but it must be fairly large to feel the need to take over a pretty large abandoned mall. If it does work it really could be a shot in the arm for the area. Id imagine some new restaurants could be supported seeing as how Church people like going out to eat.

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  • 8 months later...

The mall is back in the news again!!! This time, it's pretty much clear that NO clear use of this site will be determined for quite a while.

I'm not sure if I believe the inside of the mall is intact, even though they say so. We need to see more interior pictures of the mall, then and in it's current state, I've almost forgot what it looks like.

AUG Chronicle Article

I do agree with one comment about locating the housing project here. I thnk a mixed-use site would be perfect here. It needs to be more than just retail because we all know the city's trackrecord with retail, especially here. Housing (low-income, mixed income), some retail, and perhaps a park or school campus would be more sustainable, IMO. The church idea is a good start.

I really do see this as a potential 72 or + acre community.

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If it were in a hot area of town this thing would have been torn down and redeveloped a long time ago. Then again, if it were in a hot area it probably wouldnt have failed to begin with. That mall used to be THE mall in Augusta and one of the largest in Georgia when it was built. It is still a shame but something definately has to be done.

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Ah yes, Regency Mall, MY old mall---home of JB White and the only Chickfila in south Augusta. It's sad. A friend of mine works for GA Power and had to go for some work inside the old mall. He was given two powerful flashlights by the police substation officers and told to look out for the cats. He was like, "cats??" And then they told him that Richmond County had brought in cats in to quash the rat insurgency currently taking place within the mall---that had, however, empowered the cats to take over mall for themselves, so whoever goes in should be armed with lots of cat treats and catnip!!! He went in (and not without many reservations I can tell you that).

He described the inside of the mall as a dark place, with the trees in the middle having grown over and turned the lower part into a jungle. As he neared the ancient Orange Julius, he could look through the bushes and see cat eyes staring out at him (okay I made up that part about the cat eyes, but it could happen). The upper level was the scariest, as he couldn't see well and expected to tumble over the side any second.

He moved to the end of the mall and did his work, all the while hearing a litany of cat meows as he did his work. All at once he looked toward the old Lane Bryant store and saw hundreds of cats just going about their day. Over toward the old Manhatten store there were cats hanging out wearing urban clothing from the early 90s--many had large fake gold necklaces that hung from their necks. One was eating a corn dog. As he moved further in, he noticed the old house where Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer used to live---no, Rudolph wasn't there, although a large cat was. He immediately backed away, and ran for the exit, never to return.

Okay, I made up the last paragraph completely, but there are cats living in there, put in there by our favorite city leaders to eat rats. The inside of the mall smells horrible and is beyond saving from what he said......

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  • 3 months later...

hey, my dad had to do some cleaning there at the regency and there was no smells, no worse than any other abandoned building. there was a big monolithic clock in the middle of the place, anyone know what was there? also inside there was a big box of lost and found glasses and a few puddles on the second floor. also, there was obviously alot of people who had broke in there for different reasons. the T shirts plus building on the second floorhad its chain link fence had a huge hole in it also the lens crafters joint across from t shirts plus had a huge crack from someone throwing like a rock or something at it. unfortunatly someone had broke the displays that held the maps (you are here kind of maps) and stole the maps.

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  • 3 months later...

Are they planning to turn south Augusta to Rocky Creek? I like what they are planning to do with the area but heard nothing about this. My plan is still superior to this one. Turn that area to motor sport complex with a racetrack that could hold like 50-70 thousand race fans. Motocross bikes, truck, nascar and any others. A man could dream right

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  • 3 weeks later...

There was a study done back in 1999 or 2000..that advocated making the site a mixed use development.. with affordable housing, a school, office space, retail, restaurants, etc.. the group had redeveloped another defunct mall in Chattanooga in a similar fashion.. but as usual.. the leaders in Augusta ignored the study.. Really the best thing that could happen to it is for it to be torn down.. maybe there is some community improvement grant that could be secured to pay for the demolition. It is truly an eyesoreand just brings down that whole area.

The idea to put an arena there was rejected twice by the voters. I really think a new arena should be a focal point for downtown.. and not placed awkwardly out on Gordon Hwy.

Maybe there are some building codes that Augusta could enforce to either get the owners to clean up the property or demolish it. It would seem like it would be a lot easier to market that property if that mall was demolished. It is never going to be renovated. Augusta seems to be very lax on enforcing codes.. The types of eyesores you see in downtown with the boarded up storefronts would never be tolerated by other cities.

Are they planning to turn south Augusta to Rocky Creek? I like what they are planning to do with the area but heard nothing about this. My plan is still superior to this one. Turn that area to motor sport complex with a racetrack that could hold like 50-70 thousand race fans. Motocross bikes, truck, nascar and any others. A man could dream right
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There was a study done back in 1999 or 2000..that advocated making the site a mixed use development.. with affordable housing, a school, office space, retail, restaurants, etc.. the group had redeveloped another defunct mall in Chattanooga in a similar fashion.. but as usual.. the leaders in Augusta ignored the study.. Really the best thing that could happen to it is for it to be torn down.. maybe there is some community improvement grant that could be secured to pay for the demolition. It is truly an eyesoreand just brings down that whole area.

The idea to put an arena there was rejected twice by the voters. I really think a new arena should be a focal point for downtown.. and not placed awkwardly out on Gordon Hwy.

Maybe there are some building codes that Augusta could enforce to either get the owners to clean up the property or demolish it. It would seem like it would be a lot easier to market that property if that mall was demolished. It is never going to be renovated. Augusta seems to be very lax on enforcing codes..

Its going to be develop because macedonia already owns part of the building. The sheriff's office has a sub station inside the mall already. The only part left is some of the mall. Gordon hwy is a central location and a way downtown. I see alot cars on both sides of gordon hwy every day from harlem to north augusta these ppl drive past regency mall.

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well if it is such a great location with so much traffic then why didn't it succeed as a mall? And why have no other retailers or developers shown an interest in the property. What I am saying is that it may be easier to market that property to developers if the mall is torn down.. A church in a defunct.. shopping mall? I've seen this before..as someone else pointe out, when you see churches start inhabiting former retail spaces.. that is a sign of an area being in a general decline..

Its going to be develop because macedonia already owns part of the building. The sheriff's office has a sub station inside the mall already. The only part left is some of the mall. Gordon hwy is a central location and a way downtown. I see alot cars on both sides of gordon hwy every day from harlem to north augusta these ppl drive past regency mall.
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When you start seeing churches the area is in a decline. What have you seen new birth in atlanta, are you crazy. These are not churches, these are mega churches. Usually these churches not only build someplace to worship. But they build daycares, schools, residential areas, and other things on the same property. A basketball gym is another thing these churches build, so it sounds like it will do good. I know banks, and resturants will open around because the congregation will definitely use them. Macedonia doesn't own the whole mall, so the other part of the mall could be anything we don't know yet.

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No one said that the predominance of churches in an area means it is in a decline, but when churches start inhabiting former retail sites such as malls, it indicates that these former retail sites are not attractive to actual busineses.. so all that's left to fill these vacant buildings are churches or government agencies. Also remember that churches are tax exempt... they pay no property tax to the county.

You have tons of churches in east Augusta.. in some of Augusta's poorest neighborhoods.. the presence of a church does not necessarily become catalyst for BUSINESS growth in the area.. If that was the case then the Laney Walker area should be the most economically vibrant part of metro Augusta..

Just because a church inhabits the montgomery ward building is not going to make the rest of the mall any more attractive to businesses. It is certainly better than the building sitting empty..

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I think it would be nice to have a regional park at that location, as that area really dosn't have any substantial parkspace, unless you count the cemetery across the street.

Or it could be a good site for a vocational magnet school..

From what I understand.. the interior of the mall area is infested with mold and there are large cracks visible in the structure because of an unstable foundation. At some point, the bulk of the structure will have to be demolished.

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It didn't succeed as a mall because Augusta is not a large enough market for two major enclosed shopping malls, especially two so close together. Augusta Mall won out because it had better visibility and a better location right on I520.. and it was on the westside of town which is where the popoluation growth is occuring. If another mall ever opens in the area, it would likely be built along I20 in Columbia County. As far as Augusta growing... well that's simply not true.. Since 1990 Augusta has lost population overall. The area that is growing is Columbia County.. that's why all of the retail growth is occuring in that area.. not along Gordon Hwy.

When you start seeing churches the area is in a decline. What have you seen new birth in atlanta, are you crazy. These are not churches, these are mega churches. Usually these churches not only build someplace to worship. But they build daycares, schools, residential areas, and other things on the same property. A basketball gym is another thing these churches build, so i it sounds like it will do good. I know banks, and resturants will open around because the congregation will definitely use them. Macedonia doesn't own the whole mall, so the other part of the mall could be anything we don't know yet.
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No one said that the predominance of churches in an area means it is in a decline, but when churches start inhabiting former retail sites such as malls, it indicates that these former retail sites are not attractive to actual busineses.. so all that's left to fill these vacant buildings are churches or government agencies. Also remember that churches are tax exempt... they pay no property tax to the county.

You have tons of churches in east Augusta.. in some of Augusta's poorest neighborhoods.. the presence of a church does not necessarily become catalyst for BUSINESS growth in the area.. If that was the case then the Laney Walker area should be the most economically vibrant part of metro Augusta..

Just because a church inhabits the montgomery ward building is not going to make the rest of the mall any more attractive to businesses. It is certainly better than the building sitting empty..

What mega church is there near laney walker area because there aren't any. I only know of a small church on laney walker near 10th st. and thats it. Macedonia is one of the biggest churches in augusta its not a small one. Thats why im saying that, if it was just a small church then it would be diffrent. But macedonia congregation is huge and has alot of middle class and upper middle class people who attend. Im sure when they move to regency mall the congregation will grow because they have more seating

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It didn't succeed as a mall because Augusta is not a large enough market for two major enclosed shopping malls, especially two so close together. Augusta Mall won out because it had better visibility and a better location right on I520.. and it was on the westside of town which is where the popoluation growth is occuring. If another mall ever opens in the area, it would likely be built along I20 in Columbia County. As far as Augusta growing... well that's simply not true.. Since 1990 Augusta has lost population overall. The area that is growing is Columbia County.. that's why all of the retail growth is occuring in that area.. not along Gordon Hwy.

When is the last time you came to augusta, so of your comments don't make sense. If you lived in augusta you would know a new mall is about to open in richmond county. The new mall will be built in richmond county not columbia county. The village at riverwatch which is already under construction this year is in richmond county. Columbia county won't get a mall probably for atleast 5 to 10 years from now. And as far as augusta growing its true, august mall expanded this year, the forum, and village of riverwatch are all in richmond county. I can tell you don't know whats going on in augusta. The village of riverwatch is set to open in richmond county in 2009, and the forum and 300,000 lifestyle center in richmond county is set to open in 08/09. All the high end retail will be in richmond county sorry, you are wrong again

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The point being that while it is certainly better to have a mega church at the site than nothing at all.. But it is premature at best to conclude that this is going to become a catalyst for future business growth at the defunct mall. Actually what it indicates is that there is no business interest in the mall and no plans for any. For that area to become an attractive business location there will have to be a significant demographic shift..significant population growth and rising incomes. For the most part the incomes in that area are on the lower end of the scale. I do not see the presence of a megachurch reversing this trend in the area. Business look at numbers.. because they rae in the business of making money.. and the money simply isn't in that area. Megachurches can have huge congregations.. but will they all live in that area.. probably not..

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That location is practically right on the Richmond/Columbia County border right on I20..it is being built where it is because of its visibilty and access to I20 and its location near the high growth areas of NE Columbia County. This is also going to be a lifestyle center.. not an enclosed shopping mall. There are no plans in the near furture to build another enclosed shopping mall in the area.

When is the last time you came to augusta, so of your comments don't make sense. If you lived in augusta you would know a new mall is about to open in richmond county. The new mall will be built in richmond county not columbia county. The village at riverwatch which is already under construction this year is in richmond county. Columbia county won't get a mall probably for atleast 5 to 10 years from now. And as far as augusta growing its true, august mall expanded this year, the forum, and village of riverwatch are all in richmond county. I can tell you don't know whats going on in augusta. The village of riverwatch is set to open in richmond county in 2009, and the forum and 300,000 lifestyle center in richmond county is set to open in 08/09. All the high end retail will be in richmond county sorry, you are wrong again
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Just why do you think all of these new shopping centers being built in Richmond County are being built in the extreme NW portion of the county... and not the southside or Hephzibah, or the eastside? The Forum shopping center will also be about a stone's throw from the Columbia County border.. because that is where most of the population growth is. Also don't forget about all of the shopping centers that have opened in Columbia County or are planned to open..., Mullins Crossing, Marshall Square(another mixed use lifestyle center), Lowes, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart Super center.

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There is also a big difference between West Richmond County and the rest of the county.. This thread was about Regency mall and its general area.. where is all of this high end retail in that area?

You also might want to note all of the abandoned or nearly abandone strip malls throughout Richmond County when you talk about all of this retail growth...
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Where the growth is REALLY occurring in metro Augusta area:

Columbia County

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFP...n&pctxt=fph

Richmond County

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/SAFFP...=&_industry=

As you can see.. Columbia County has added over 17,000 new residents in 6 years.. in the same time period Richmond County lost over 5,000 residents.

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