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City staff proposes buying Riverside Village parcels for cyber building using DOE settlement funds

North Augusta City Council · December 9, 2025

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Summary

City staff recommended acquiring Parcel B (stadium deck) and Parcel D (undeveloped site) in Riverside Village for about $5 million, funded from Department of Energy settlement allocations earmarked for cyber infrastructure; financial advisers said the village revenues have outperformed earlier projections and the acquisition would support consolidated parking and a city-owned cyber facility.

City Administrator Jim Clifford presented a concept to purchase two Riverside Village parcels — Parcel B (the privately owned stadium parking deck) and Parcel D (an undeveloped lot adjacent to the stadium) — with Department of Energy settlement funds allocated to North Augusta ($37 million total allocation to the city: $2M transfer station, $15M cyber infrastructure, $20M Savannah Bluff Lock & Dam). Staff estimated a combined base acquisition cost of roughly $5 million for both parcels.

Financial adviser Walter Goldsmith said revenues tied to Riverside Village have outperformed the 2017 projections in nearly every category except parking; 2024 total revenues referenced in the presentation were about $6.1 million compared with a 2016 projection of $4.5 million, and Goldsmith said the city's coverage ratio for debt service remains acceptable. He and outside counsel Joe Lucas described the legal steps that would follow a council decision: purchase-and-sale agreements for each parcel, an amendment to the development agreement to allow city ownership and a joint planning/ordinance process that would include public hearings and approvals by the planning commission and council.

Clifford said parcel D would likely be the site of a city-owned cyber infrastructure 'spec' building and that DOE settlement funds earmarked for cyber must be used for cyber-related capital, not simply parking. Councilmembers asked about wetlands setbacks, the proximity to Brick Pond, tax-revenue impacts of removing privately taxed parcels, and whether tenant revenue would offset lost property tax; staff said they had conservatively modeled parcel D with no revenue and that any tenant income would be a future bonus.

Next steps: if council gives direction, staff proposes entering purchase-and-sale agreements, taking amendments through the planning commission in January, and preparing necessary parking and management agreements; many legal and financial steps would occur in early 2026.