Neighbors vexed over city leasing out Eisenhower Park

Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2024

Neighbors vexed over city leasing out Eisenhower Park

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Construction crews have been hard at work at Eisenhower Park, which the Augusta National Golf Club has leased for parking during the Masters Tournament.

There’s now lots of circular tracks in the dirt, moving concrete blocks, and digging up the old foundation.

Where older field towers used to stand, now lies an open field that will soon house patrons months from now.

“Well, they can get plenty of cars in here, not surprised,” said nearby neighbor, Matthew Mayes. “It doesn’t bother me. At least they’ll be using it for something. I love coming down here.”

Mayes says he walks around this track most every day. He says the front side of the park is in constant use, but the lower fields will only see the occasional dog walker and pick-up game.

“A lot of people come and walk their dogs on it,” he said. “A lot of kids down here when baseball season gets going on, weather warms up you’ll see a lot more kids at this playground over here.”

But not all the neighbors are happy about it.

Parents and neighbors across “Nextdoor” are frustrated to find out their park next door isn’t just getting a renovation.

Among the comments:

“I take my son there, he’s 2 and loves it.”
“Greed at work, kids don’t have a place to go now.”
“There are no benefits for the regular people of Augusta.”

However, Commissioner Sean Frantom reassures park-goers.

“They’re taking a few fields that were not even in use anyway, and eventually it’s just going to put more greenspace in the park,” he said.

The city approved a three-year lease with Augusta National for about $10,000 a year to use the space for extra parking during Masters.

Through an open-records request, News 12 obtained mapped plans that show the parking lot to expand into three baseball diamonds at the park.

We’re working to find out more about the plans.

Source link

One dead following a shooting in Richmond County

Published

6 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

One dead following a shooting in Richmond County

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The Richmond County Coroner’s Office said a person has died after a shooting on Division Street Saturday afternoon.

Officials say the shooting happened at the 2100 block around 4 p.m.

The victim was shot at least one time and taken to Wellstar MCG, where he later died, the coroner’s office says.

The sheriff’s office also went to Division Street at approximately 4 p.m. in reference to the incident, deputies say.

An autopsy has been scheduled.

No further information is available at this time.

Source link

Sandusky Ohio News | Sandusky Register

Published

18 hours ago

March 28, 2026

Press Room

<br /> Sandusky Ohio News | Sandusky Register <br />

Loading…

View Page in Progress

Source link

Augusta’s Turpin neighborhood to get affordable homes with $1.85M federal grant

Published

1 day ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Augusta’s Turpin neighborhood to get affordable homes with .85M federal grant

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The historic Turpin neighborhood will soon welcome more affordable homes after Augusta Habitat for Humanity was awarded $1.85 million in federal funding this week.

The grant will fund the construction of at least 12 homes in the area.

“Habitat for Humanity applied for federal funding, and they were awarded the funding,” said District 2 Commissioner Stacy Pulliam.

Reviving a historic community

The Turpin neighborhood was once home to professionals, including educators, doctors, and lawyers.

“These big professionals that lived mostly over this way,” one resident said of the neighborhood’s history.

Pulliam described the area’s former prominence as “its grand days of glory, when it was the place.”

The project brings together city organizers and community partners through the Georgia Initiative for Community Housing, or GICH.

“We have so many partners. We have the Housing Authority on board. We have a representative from the Hub on board,” Pulliam said. “There’s so many great partners at the table that’s helping pull all of this together.”

Federal support and future plans

The project received backing from Senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

Habitat for Humanity, with support from GICH, focused its application on Turpin Hill intentionally, as officials say the community had been needing to be addressed for years.

With Habitat for Humanity continuing to advocate for more funds, Pulliam said their motivation could lead to additional housing development in the future.

“We keep going and going and going,” she said. “Now we can do 20. Now we can do multifamily. So it’s fueling our fire to get more housing, but not just housing, to clean up the area.”

Source link