The general plan is to recruit larger tenants first, then fill in other areas with smaller establishments, he said. Mr. Boardman's purchase included the mill's generators, which convert water power from the Augusta Canal into electricity. The mill's hydropower license was affirmed through the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Enterprise complex includes a building called Granite Mill, the only remaining structure from the assortment of mills and factories built along the canal banks after the waterway opened in 1845. Although the Augusta Canal Authority has discussed leasing or buying that portion of the site for a visitors center and headquarters, those discussions have been dormant since January, Mr. Boardman said.
Construction workers work on the outside of the Enterprise Mill in Augusta.
Parts of the old mill are being turned into apartments. In addition to purchasing nearby parcels along Telfair Street, negotiations also are under way to purchase the historic Avondale Mill, built around 1887. Avondale, just across Calhoun Expressway from the Enterprise, has about 60,000 square feet and currently is used to store waste fabric. Mr. Boardman hopes to buy that building, expanding his site to 17 acres. In its heyday, mill workers toiled 24 hours a day, in shifts, making cotton twill and denim.