In a sign of progress for the development, work has begun at Project Jackson, a mixed-use concept that will include a new Augusta GreenJackets (Low A; Sally League) ballpark.
On Monday, the North Augusta City Council held a final reading on a purchase agreement, which covers up to $16 million in work on the plan. That vote allowed crews to begin carrying out some key tasks on the site. The work is preliminary in nature, consisting largely of projects that relate to the site’s infrastructure.
A larger vote on the master development agreement is still in the future, but officials are hoping that a decision on that plan will be reached soon. More from the Aiken Standard:
A separate bond issue will follow final approval of the master developer agreement, which remains in negotiation. North Augusta leaders hope to finalize the deal later this month.
North Augusta Mayor Lark Jones said breaking off $16 million for the infrastructure work now will allow the City to repay the bonds early before bonding the rest.
That would create better lending terms later on, he said.
“This will be temporary financing to carry the debt on the (parking) deck and begin some of the improvements on Project Jackson in what I would call an incremental fashion,” Jones said. “This (vote) is to get us going to meet deadline obligations.”
Previous timeline estimates have called for work on the ballpark to begin early this year, allowing the GreenJackets to move to North Augusta for the 2018 season. If that is the case, 2017 will be the team’s last season at Lake Olmstead Stadium.
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