When the Palmetto Parkway extension opens in late 2009 or early 2010, its most important role will be to help vehicles travel around the metro Augusta area. But a secondary role, officials say, will be to help stimulate economic growth.
More than $244 million in local, state and federal money has been invested in construction on the South Carolina side of the Interstate 520 project, which was first proposed in 1971.
G.M. "Skip" Grkovic, North Augusta's director of Economic and Community Development, said the economic benefits of the parkway are "hard to put your finger on," but it will likely help direct growth toward the Belvedere area.
"For the city of North Augusta it does a couple of things," he said. "It provides access to some undeveloped land that is still close in to the center part of the city."
The interstate will also reduce heavy commercial traffic by as much as 15-20 percent on main arteries within the city, Mayor Lark Jones said.
The future Palmetto Parkway/Interstate 20 interchange might also become a draw for light industrial development or a retail distribution operation, Grkovic said.
"I think in the long run for both the city and the county, there will be increased tax base, and tax base not just from ad valorem property taxes, but sales taxes, business licenses and that sort of thing," he said.
Jones said there is also potential in the area where the two highways meet for North Augusta to draw regional retailers it otherwise wouldn't.
"That area is just perfectly situated between Aiken, Augusta and Martinez-Evans-West Augusta for some ... regional development," Jones said.
A Bass Pro Shops outlet is a popular rumor for the area, the mayor said, and it would be the type of regional retailer that an interstate crossroads might attract.
"Hopefully that (type of development is) what will happen," he said. "We'll get some things that North Augusta on its own wouldn't support, but a regional community would support."
Greater North Augusta Chamber of Commerce president Bill Bassham agrees. He said he thinks the opening of the Palmetto Parkway will be one of the greatest positive economic forces the city has ever had.
He said the parkway will help growth by bringing traffic through North Augusta without adding stress to the existing street system.
Space adjacent to new interchanges will also provide opportunity for businesses to open in new areas.
"All of those areas will open up new opportunities for economic growth," he said.
Jones said another benefit might be the "sorely needed" addition of hotel and meeting space along the parkway. He said the hotel chains claim the market is saturated because of all the hotels in Augusta.
"There is just no one who recognizes that North Augusta is a separate market and that people in North Augusta have weddings and funerals and gatherings where people need to spend the night," he said. "If it were here in North Augusta, they would stay in North Augusta."
He also said it would allow the city to pursue more statewide sports tournaments without the risk of losing accommodations taxes to Richmond and Columbia counties.
Staff Writer Lisa Kaylor contributed to this article.
Reach J. Scott Trubey at scott.trubey@northaugustatoday.com.
