New Life for Former WJBF Building

New Life for Former WJBF Property Just days after the former WJBF property at the corner of 10th and Reynolds failed to receive protection from Augusta’s Historic Preservation Commission and was recommended for demolition, local developers Clay Boardman and Barry Storey, operating as TelPark Partners, announced a plan to develop the property into a site that will put Augusta’s seven economic development organizations under one roof. In a press release, the two confirmed they have been working for several months to bring the organizations together in one place. “We focused on this site for its strategic location just a block from the Riverwalk, Augusta Common, the Broad Street retail area and the new TEE Center,” Boardman said in the press release. According to Barry White, president and CEO of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, housing the economic development agencies in one building has several advantages. “It will force more collaboration,” he said. “And it will also present a very unified front to any client or prospect that any one of the organizations is working with.” White, who plans to relocate the visitor information center to the new location, said the organizations had considered other downtown properties in an area roughly between Reynolds and Broad and between 8th and 12th Street, but the WJBF property was the one all the organizations could agree on. Though all the organizations work with the city, White said it was unlikely that any group would need city approval. “I believe all of these groups have the ability to make the decision with their boards, but we want full buy-in from the city,” he said. “Even though these organizations vary from completely private to quasi-public, we’re all working to improve and grow economic prosperity for the city in our own special ways. It’s one big partnership.”You Might Also Like: