Site of Augusta’s old jail remains unclear more than 5 years later

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A justice center, a movie set, or an innovation hub.

At one point, Augusta’s old jail could’ve become any one of these.

Instead, the site is now empty and a study ordered by the city found that developing the area is a low priority.

Discussions about what the old jail site should become are nothing new.

For more than five years the city has gone back and forth.

When The Suicide Squad was filmed at the old jail, there were hopes it could become a site for movie studios.

Advocates also fought for years to transform the site into a justice center.

Instead of revitalizing the building, city leaders voted to demolish it, leaving it in the current state you see.

The city ordered a firm to study and decide how the land should be used, either for commercial or residential use.

The study came back with neither, instead recommending an innovation hub or a park be built in an area the study acknowledges as historically underserved.

“We have to see unified city leadership in order to make anything happen here,” said Sara Patenaude, with the Urban Land Institue technical assistance panel. “So that means getting the elected leaders and the staff on the same page, getting the city ready to support a streamlined development process, thinking through the incentives that the city might have to offer, how the city can make it more viable for a developer.”

For a short-term solution, the study recommends using the empty space as soccer fields, a farmers market or mini-golf –saying there are a host of fun activities that would work well on the site and require little if anything beyond a grassy field.

City leaders did not take any action on what they’d like to see come next for the empty site.

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