Classic Collision auto repair chain to open location in Augusta

July 30--Augusta's emerging high-tech sector has attracted another business here -- an auto collision repair chain making its first appearance outside the Atlanta area.

Classic Collision is expected to open its 22nd location on Wednesday, at 3069 Washington Road. The company also plans to open a Grovetown location by next spring.

Tracy Bryant will be Classic Collision's regional manager, based in Augusta. An Augusta native, Bryant had worked for Kendrick Paint and Body, a local repair chain dating to the 1950s, with six locations in Georgia and South Carolina.

After Bryant and Kendrick parted ways and he took a job with Classic, "we both agreed that Augusta needed a good high-quality, high-volume collision center, and here we are today," he said.

The center will be on the former site of a Toyota dealership that Milton Ruben Auto Group bought in 2009 and moved further up Washington Road. In 2011 Jeff Richards, co-owner of area Bob Richards Toyota and Nissan dealerships, bought the property as an investment. At one point, the property was being touted by developers as yet another potential retail strip for Washington Road.

But when Classic Collision's managers saw industry-related "heat maps" showing rising demographics in the Augusta area, the business decided it needed to branch outside of metro Atlanta.

"We're looking for growing markets, markets that are on the rise," Bryant said. "Of course Augusta is attractive to Classic because of all the growth with the Cyber Command and in the population count as well."

The Army is expected to finish moving its Cyber Command to Fort Gordon by 2020, bringing tens of thousands of people to the area. The military component of the area's growth also was a contributing factor for Classic to locate in the area.

"Augusta and Grovetown are ideal locations for Classic Collision," said Alan Craighead, Classic's training coordinator/manager. "The military and high-tech development is booming. With our strong relationships with insurance companies such as USAA and Geico, who support the military, it makes a great fit."

Bryant said Classic will be the biggest auto collision center in Augusta, both in square footage -- at 70,000 square feet -- and in revenue. When fully established, the business is expected to bring in about $800,000 a month, Bryant said.

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