Downtown gets new way to plug in
Augusta's downtown cultural center now has room to grow.
Connecting the bustle of Broad Street to the festival-friendly real estate along Riverwalk Augusta, the Augusta Common was designed with the city's downtown development in mind.
"What we're hoping to see is the same sort of things that are going on downtown already, just more," said Peggy Seigler, the assistant to the city administrator.
The Common has been wired for live music, and the Greater Augusta Arts Council already has plans to use it forArts in the Heart of Augusta in September and perhaps the Garden City Music Festival in the spring. Ms. Seigler estimates the Common's capacity at 10,000 to 15,000.
"We actually hope to exceed that for the opening ceremonies," she said with a laugh. "That's really going to be our test case."
Events at the Augusta Common will be coordinated by Riverwalk Augusta Special Events. Its director, Rommie Thompson, said the role the Common will play downtown was still unclear.
"I haven't really even begun to think about what events will be there in the next year," she said. "This is all so new, and we really are playing a wait-and-see game."
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
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