The former Alumni Center at 919 15th St. has been razed; the next phase will create additional parking for the Health Sciences Campus.
This photo of the Alumni Center was taken in July 2020 just before the demolition began.
The Alumni Center once housed offices, students and a ballroom where many events were held over the last several decades.
Originally built and operated as a hotel, many of the offices inside the building still had bathrooms (with tubs) and window unit air conditioners.
A bulldozer tears into the back section of the Alumni Center during the first months of razing the building.
Only a small portion of the building remains in this photo taken in November.
Ironically, inside the construction zone stands this “MCG Permit Parking Only” sign.
Wood, concrete and other building materials had to be scooped into huge containers and hauled away.
In this December 2020 photo, only a few pieces of broken concrete remain of the Alumni Center.
In this January 2021 photo, heavy machinery can be seen leveling the ground where the building once stood.
All that is left at 919 15th St. is a grassy lot, where you can see AU Medical Center in the background from this angle.
Augusta University’s former Alumni Center (building FI) at 919 15th St. is gone. The abatement and demolition that began in July 2020 has been finished, and all that is left of what was originally the Thunderbird Inn is a flat grassy lot.
Next on the agenda for this space is to convert it into more parking for the Health Sciences Campus, which continues to grow in size and activity. The timeline for completion of the parking portion of the project has not been finalized.
For more information, contact Project Manager Todd Peeler in Facilities Planning, Design and Construction at 706-726-8796.
Denise Parrish is Director of Communications for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement at Augusta University. Contact her to schedule an interview on this topic at 706-721-9760 or mparrish@augusta.edu.
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