River Place Condominiums

River Place Condominiums, previously known as Port Royal Condominiums, is a mixed-use residential high-rise building located in Augusta, Georgia. Standing at 312 feet (95 meters) tall with 18 floors, it is tallest building in Augusta and the Central Savannah River Area.^[4] It has become an iconic part of the city's skyline, with the exterior of the building having a pink salmon color and concrete structure, along with having a postmodern style with multiple gables at the top. The building was originally known to have the National Science Center at Fort Discovery, which closed in December 2010. It has also been found to be the 80th tallest building in the state of Georgia.^[5]

History

The concept of the building was developed on November 24, 1987 by French investors who unveiled plans to develop an $18 million, three-tower complex along the Savannah River called Port Royal. The complex will comprise condominiums, a shopping center, and a hotel. Even though the hotel never went through, construction for the tower and the center started 10 months later. On May 7, 1991, Port Royal had its grand opening, which was completed as a $45 million project. It includes the 18-story tower that features 56 condominiums and 128,000 square feet of retail space. This became the Shoppes of Port Royale, which opened two days later and was proven to be unsuccessful. Retailers began shutting down within a year, and, during the first two years, only seven of the luxury condos were sold, with listings up to $400,000. The shopping center became dead in 1995, and the state Board of Education agreed to transfer $10 million in lottery money to help fund construction for the new museum that will take its spot. After its completion, the new National Science Center at Fort Discovery had its grand opening on April 23, 1997. This project received $13 million in state and local government money, and a private fund-raising campaign created an extra $6.5 million. However, Fort Discovery suffered terribly when it dropped two-thirds of its staff and reduced its hours when state funds were delaying. After a few years, Fort Discovery closed on December 31, 2010 after 13 years of operation. The site has been stripped to its bare concrete floors and columns to make way for any new development.

Future

In January 2012, after more than a year on the market, the Fort Discovery property below River Place Condominiums was purchased for $2.1 million by California businessman Moshe Silagi. The name of the center was soon changed to Discovery Plaza, and has been renovated several times to become an office complex. The center will be able house up to 700 workers within the next five years and plans to serve both government and commercial clients. It also features an auditorium, with a capacity of 220, that will be for community and public purposes, along with a base of operations for the police in the region. The facility has been viewed by Unisys multiple times, which then announced that it will select Discovery Plaza as the permanent site for a new client service center. The company is currently using temporary office space throughout Augusta and expects to be moved in later this year. The service center will be used to provide IT support services to Fort Gordon and the U.S. Army, which recently selected Unisys for the Army Enterprise Service Desk, a single point of contact for Army personnel who need help desk or other end-user IT support services. Other tenants are underway for development at the new business center.

See also

• List of tallest buildings in Augusta

Resources

• "Significant interest" seen in old Fort Discovery space. Accessed 1 July 2015
• Discovery Plaza chosen as location for Unisys center. Accessed 1 July 2015
• Unisys Selects Augusta's Discovery Plaza for New U.S. Client Service Center Accessed 30 June 2015
• Discovery Plaza - Former Ft. Discovery Accessed 30 June 2015

References

Coordinates: 33°28′37″N 81°57′44″W / 33.476881°N 81.962165°W / 33.476881; -81.962165