King Mill to get new life with plans for 250 apartments on the horizon King Mill to be turned into apartments

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- Work continues at Sibley Mill to create what they're calling Augusta Cyberworks, a cyber tech campus with a data center and office spaces. The same developer at Sibley Mill has just bought the even larger King Mill right next door. They have plans to turn that old mill into apartments.

"You drive into Augusta on Riverwatch Parkway, and the first thing you see are Sibley and King Mill," said James Ainslie, CEO Cape Augusta.

Monuments to the past sit right at the doorstep to downtown Augusta. Sibley and King Mill, once a hub for employment, sat empty for years until Cape Augusta came in with a big plan.

"It'll be much more focused to a lifestyle destination than just a residential complex," said Ainslie.

While work continues on Sibley Mill, the even large King Mill is next in line. Cape Augusta officially bought the property from Augusta's Canal Authority.

"Even though they're two seperate projects or mills, they're really working in tandom," said Dayton Sherrouse, Executive Director of Augusta's Canal Authority.

The plan for King Mill is coming in phases beginning first with 250 market rate apartments. From there, Ainslie plans to develop the rest of the complex for mixed use development.

"For instance, artist space, artesenal craftsman, brew pubs,coffee shops, those kinds of lifestyle destinations," described Ainslie.

Even while King Mill sat empty, it never truly stopped operating. Water from the Augusta Canal still flow into the building where giant turbines have been spinning for years. It's one of many parts of the mill that will continue even after its renovated.

"We're hopeful this investment and redevelopment of these properties here is going to work in tandom to allow a lot of the things that happening in downtown Augusta," said Sherrouse.

Cape Augusta is using both federal and state historic tax credits keeping the integrity and the history of the building. They're also using new market tax credits which are designed to spur job growth and development. They hope to bring life back to the heart of Harrisburg.

Cape Augusta says the plan is to break ground on King Mill sometime between September and November. Once they break ground, they expect the project to take 12 to 18 months to finish.

Developer completes King Mill acquisition for apartment project

The company redeveloping the Sibley Mill as high-tech office space on Friday announced it has completed its acquisition of the adjacent King Mill property from the Augusta Canal Authority.

Cape Augusta LLC said its purchase of the 22-acre former textile mill was completed Jan. 24. The $3 million transaction excluded the King Mill’s hydroelectric turbines, which the canal authority will use to generate revenue for its operations.

The property has been owned by the authority since Spartan Mills shuttered the plant in 2001.

Cape Augusta, which is turning Sibley into a commercial office park called Augusta Cyberworks, had previously announced its intent to renovate King Mill’s 600,000-square-foot factory building into as many as 300 market-rate apartments and retail space.

Cape Augusta CEO James Ainslie said in prepared remarks on Friday that many future King Mill residents could be people who work at the next-door Sibley Mill, which serves as the headquarters for Augusta-based IT firm EDTS LLC and cyber classroom space for the University of Maryland Baltimore County Training Centers.

“It’s clear that a high quality product for trendy urban living is vital to unlocking downtown as a destination for major commercial users,” Ainslie said. “We are delighted with our acquisition of this site as it’s ideal for this purpose.”

Cape Augusta has had an option on the property since 2016, when it entered into a long-term lease at Sibley Mill. King Mill’s previous tenant, Ohio-based Standard Textile, ceased its small institutional textile manufacturing operation at the Goodrich Street property in October.

Cape Augusta’s long-term plan for Sibley includes development of a 20- to 40-megawatt data center that would draw its power from Sibley’s hydroelectric turbine. Under the deal, the canal authority provide Cape Augusta’s operations with below-market rate electricity.

Canal Authority Executive Director Dayton Sherrouse said in prepared remarks Friday that the developments will give 21st century purpose to the 19th century properties, which are within the National Register of Historic Places district known as the “Augusta Canal and Industrial District.”

“Our hope for both King and Sibley mills is that they could not only be preserved as a part of our city’s industrial history, but also be put back into productive use and once again become economic drivers for our community,” he said. “The innovative ideas and energy that the team from Cape Augusta have put forward should do just that.”

Sherrouse said the sale proceeds will be used to create a reserve fund to pay for turbine maintenance and repairs. Hydroelectricity sales provide the bulk of authority revenue, Sherrouse said, with grant funds and earnings from Petersburg boat tours providing supplemental funding.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA and Cape Augusta Digital Properties Announce Impact 2025, an Initiative to Positively Impact Augusta’s Harrisburg Area

Augusta, Georgia - The Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA and Cape Augusta Digital Properties announce Impact 2025. The multi-year initiative to improve and expand the programming capabilities of the Boys & Girls Club within the Harrisburg area of Augusta, Ga.

Programs dedicated to:
●      Improving student exposure and experience with both STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and cyber-related skills.
●      Providing mentorship and learning opportunities to youth interested in STEM and cyber
●      Providing job skills training and job experience to late teen and young adults of the Harrisburg area
●      Improve education concerning nutrition of Harrisburg residents and provide a mechanism to positively affect the food culture of the Harrisburg population.

Impact 2025 also looks to improve access and facilities by:
●      Upgrading the outdoor area around the E.W. Hagler Clubhouse for community use
●      Moving the Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA Administrative Offices to the Augusta Cyberworks Campus

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA and Cape Augusta Digital Properties believe that improved opportunity for Harrisburg residents is imperative to the future of Augusta, as Harrisburg is such a central and historically important area for the city.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA is a nonprofit organization that strives to provide a world-class club experience that assures success is within reach of every young person who enters their doors.  An important aspect of any child’s future is a stable and supportive home environment. The programs in development plan to affect the entire family unit through education and training opportunities for all ages.  Kim Evans, President and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA, stated, “there is a great need in Harrisburg to address the issues of low employment, underperforming schools, and food desert conditions which place families and young people at risk for continuing the cycle of generational poverty that has plagued the area for decades.  Cape Augusta Digital Properties’ plan to drive economic development in Harrisburg by fostering innovation and collaboration between community organizations, corporate citizens, and residents will create synergies that will ultimately transform the future of this historic city.”

Cape Augusta Digital Properties Vice President of Community Affairs, Eric J. Zuckerman, suggested that “Cape Augusta Digital Properties is honored to breathe life into the Sibley and King Mills. With the Augusta Cyberworks making the mills their home, we were looking to team with community organizations with a proven track record of making a difference in the community and are trusted allies to the residents. We are greatly impressed with the Boys & Girls Clubs of the CSRA, so it was a natural fit to work closely with them and support their mission of education, character, and healthy lifestyles. Impact 2025 is a bold plan that can really aid the community.”  

Scuttlebiz: EDTS celebration delights

Could the grand opening of the new EDTS headquarters go down as theribbon-cutting event of 2017?

I think so.

While much larger developments are on the way – including the state’s cyber innovation center, a new hotel on Broad Street’s 1100 block and the highly anticipated (and secret) neo-urban community at the city-owned “depot” property – none will get the big-scissor treatment this calendar year.

Those projects’ budgets – which each hover at or above the $50 million mark – will dwarf the $6 million EDTS facility in the fledgling Augusta Cyberworkscomplex. But they’ll lack the joie de vivre of a 19th century cotton warehouse that’s been repurposed to deliver 21st century information technology services along the banks of the 172-year-old Augusta Canal.

The project on the Sixth Street depot property, for example, promises to be a “destination.” But, much like an infant child, it could take years to grow and develop personality.

The yet-to-be-announced hotel on the 1100 block of Broad (not to be confused with the Hyatt House under construction on the 1200 block) is said to be massive. But once the paint dries and the signs go up, it is still just a hotel, right?

The Hull McKnight Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center at Augusta University’s Riverfront Campus will draw scores of new people downtown. Of course, time will tell whether the $60 million center becomes a of den of creativity and commerce or just another government building sporting brutalist architecture.

So, right now, I’d say EDTS and Cyberworks deserve the spotlight.

Keep in mind the 32,000-square-foot space for EDTS and its EDTS Cyberaffiliate is just a small part of the Cyberworks concept. If the developers, Cape Augusta Digital Properties, get their way, they’ll have more than 1 million square feet at the former Sibley and King mills converted into a tech-centric mixed-use development jacked in to a 20-megawatt data center that is hydroelectrically powered – and simultaneously cooled – by the canal’s flowing waters.

“Back in history, the Augusta Canal really sparked the industrial revolution in Augusta,” EDTS CEO Charles Johnson said at the event. “I really think cyber … is going to be our new Augusta Canal, and it’s fitting that this project is on the canal.”

Johnson is more than a tenant, he’s a Cape Augusta investor. But turning his hometown’s iconic industrial structures into a high-tech business park wasn’t his idea. The credit for that goes to James Ainslie, a South African entrepreneur was an unknown in the Augusta business community just a couple of years ago.

With a techie’s mind, a financier’s swagger and a mug that could get him a gig as Jason Statham’s stunt double, Ainslie is fast becoming one of the city’s most recognizable executives. (His wife Adel, by the way, gets my vote for “best accent” in Augusta.)

Ainslie’s business partner and fellow countryman Wayne Millar, who has been involved in local real estate development for more than a decade, are in the drivers’ seat. The two are relying on private equity funds, federal New Market Tax Credits and historic preservation grants to chip away at the $200 million adaptive reuse project, which calls for 250 market-rate apartments at King Mill.

During his remarks about the gargantuan undertaking, Ainslie quipped that he “perhaps had a tad too much optimism” when he first saw the idle textile mills three years ago.

“When I look at them now, I’m reminded of the adage: ‘How do you eat an elephant?’” he said jokingly. “Fortunately I’m from South Africa and that’s a skill they give us at an early age.”

Combined, Sibley and King are four times the size of Enterprise Mill. So if a metaphorical elephant is to be eaten, then this past week celebrated he first bite. Ainslie’s confident the region’s burgeoning cyber industry will help him clean the plate.

CHEW ON THIS: The EDTS grand opening party was quite the place to be on a late Tuesday afternoon. I don’t think every banker in town was there, but it sure seemed like it. Political figures, including State Rep. Mark Newton, and former political figures, including former State Sen. Charles Walker, also were abundant.

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen said Fort Gordon’s cyberific expansion has made his Beltway colleagues “very envious” of Georgia’s 12th congressional district. And Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis said the high-tech infusion gives the city an “opportunity to step into this age of innovation and technology.”

Later, near the shrimp cocktail buffet boat, Davis and I had a candid discussion about his support for building a new James Brown Arena at the former Regency Mall site, something that is contrary to consultant recommendations and a “silent majority” of business leaders who think the most logical place for a 10,000-plus seat arena is in downtown’s entertainment district.

If you read Scuttlebiz last week, you know my stance: A venue dependent upon regional – repeat, regional – consumers will not survive at the Regency site, no matter how much we might want it to.

I won’t divulge details of my off-the-record conversation with Davis. But I will say that neither the conversation nor his press conference the following day swayed my opinion.

Cape Augusta developing “live, work, play,host” space in Sibley and King Mills

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)- Sibley and King Mills were once the lifeblood of the Harrisburg neighborhoods, but as textile mills were outsourced, the area around it changed.

“People, as they do, tend to move out of the urban core and move into the suburbs, which is typical of what you see virtually all across the country in that same time frame,” said Phillip Williams, president of the Harrisburg Neighborhood Association.

A local developer is trying to reverse that trend and bring the mills into the 21st century as the Augusta Cyberworks.

“The Augusta Cyberworks is essentially just over a million square feet, almost 60 acre mixed use, major mixed use redevelopment project,” said James Ainslie, president and CEO of Cape Augusta, which is the company developing the project.

Cape Augusta was originally interested in the mills as a data storage unit. Their proximity to the Augusta Canal makes the mills attractive because the water can be used to keep the hardware climate-controlled at a relatively low cost.

“But when we came to the canal authority to negotiate the grant lease, they told us we couldn’t just do a data center,” Ainslie said. “They told us they wanted us to redevelop the entire complex.”

Now, they’re looking to also looking to build office space in Sibley Mill and 250 apartments in King Mill, as well as retail and restaurants– all of that on top of an investment of about $350 million in the data center.

“The development of the mill is going to be just a tremendous boon to the neighborhood,” Williams said.

Ainslie says they plan to break ground on the apartments in September 2018 and the data center sometime within the next 12 months. He says both projects should take about 18 months to complete.

“I think you’re going to see a tremendous surge just in the next couple of years as people, particularity developers, see the value in the property here come in and buy it up, fix it up, and resell it,” Williams said.

He also says the only issue with the project he’s heard is that the cost of living could get expensive for elderly folks with fixed incomes in the area. He says he’s looking to talk to the tax commissioner to see about that.

A first look at the Augusta Cyberworks Campus and the jobs that are following

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF)– Locals watched history meet the future Tuesday night at the old Sibley Mill. Some in the community got the chance to take a look at the first facility to open on the Augusta Cyberworks Campus.

The Sibley Mill is 137 years old– a true staple in the Garden City. It’s been vacant for 11 years, but that changed last month, when 80 EDTS employees moved into the renovated facility.

The Founder of EDTS says now that cyber is one of his main focuses, he’s going to have to expand his team: “We have a steady stream of hires every month,” Charles Johnson, CEO and Founder of EDTS said.

Back in April, local I.T leader, EDTS, announced a plan to expand its operations to include cyber security, bringing 100 jobs to the area.  And since that announcement, the EDTS has employed 7 people.
JAMES AINSLIE/ PRESIDENT, CAPE AUGUSTA:
“As we have gone through alternative markets that have responded to cyber across the United States, one of the most pointed lessons to us is being how entrepreneurs really are the bedrock as a meaningful response to the program,” James Ainslie, President of Cape Augusta, said.

Ainsley believes it is crucial to recruit cyber workers who are willing to not only invest in training, but also be willing to invest in the community.

“What is required is developing a strongly knit community of mentors that can really get behind an idea, develop the idea then move that idea through its seed capitol run. That’s really where the opportunity is with cyber,” Ainsley said.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are at least one million unfilled cyber jobs in the U.S. To keep up with the growing number of cyber threats, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County Training Centers will lease a building on the Cyberworks campus, right behind EDTS. The college will provide cyber security training, education and job placement.

“When you look at the private sector opportunities, there will be opportunities in academia. There will be opportunities on Ft. Gordon. Our city has a new identity. An identity that involves innovation and technology. I think that is something all Augustans can be proud of, people in the region can be proud of, and the Greater Augusta area as well,” Mayor Hardie Davis said.

Augusta Cyberworks will also have 250 apartments on site, making the campus a great place to live, work and play. Expect Channel 6 to keep you updated on the project.

Cyberworks high tech park praised by area leaders Tuesday

Area officials lauded the renovation of one of Augusta’s most historic structures as an important step into what the city’s mayor called “a new phase in our economy.”

EDTS, an Augusta-based information technology and cybersecurity firm, and development firm Cape Augusta Digital Properties marked the occasion Tuesday at Sibley Mill.

EDTS signed a 10-year lease in May 2016 on a 32,500-square-foot space in the former textile mill’s historic Cotton Store building. Cape Augusta plans to redevelop Sibley and surrounding property into a high-tech business park called Augusta Cyberworks.

“Historically we’ve been an economy of medicine, manufacturing and the military,” Mayor Hardie Davis said. “We now have an opportunity to step into this age of innovation and technology.”

Cape Augusta’s plans for Sibley include refurbishing the 135-year-old mill into office space, training classrooms and a 10-megawatt data center to help serve growing cybersecurity needs. Data centers, also called “server farms,” house large amounts of computer equipment and provide power and storage for the IT industry.

Sibley sits by the Augusta Canal and is fitted with 2.5-megawatt hydroelectric turbines. That provides electricity to help power a data center’s servers, and water to help keep servers from overheating.

Sue Parr, president and CEO of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, met with Cape Augusta partners in 2015 to hear their plans for Sibley.

“The interesting part was that they were going to bridge the (mill’s) historical purpose into a new modern use of water and energy, and most importantly make a significant investment in Augusta’s technology future,” she said.

Cape Augusta CEO James Ainslie said Augusta “is extremely lucky” to have leadership to help guide the area forward.

“Human capital development, skills development and community involvement are absolutely critical to building a sustainable and lasting program in cyber,” he said.

EDTS has been working in the recently christened Sibley space for several months. Its founder and CEO Charles Johnson said about 65 employees work in the old Cotton Store, with a capacity for 170.

The second phase of renovations will prepare adjacent training space for UMBC Training Centers, a cybersecurity training firm in Columbia, Md. Cape Augusta announced a joint-venture deal with UMBC, a subsidiary of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, in September 2016.

Completed in 1882, Sibley Mill produced denim for Levi-Strauss. It sits on the site of the old Confederate Powderworks, the Confederacy’s gunpowder factory during the Civil War. Its obelisk chimney is all that remains of the powderworks today.

In 1999 Sibley stopped carding and spinning operations, but continued its denim finishing. The mill closed completely in 2006.

The Augusta Canal Authority bought Sibley from Alabama-based Avondale Mills in 2010, and in April 2016 the authority struck a 75-year lease agreement for the property with Cape Augusta.

News 12 Exclusive: Behind-the-scenes of King Mill's renovation

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A century’s worth of history sits on Augusta’s door step. Sibley and King Mill are some of the oldest pieces, but for years both sat empty.

“We really hope that the mill district and Augusta Cyberworks becomes very much a destination,” said James Ainslie, CEO of Cape Augusta.

Cape Augusta’s plans are giving those mills new life. A year’s worth of work already transformed a portion of Sibley Mill into new workspace for EDTS with opportunities for more restoration at the larger mill right next door.

“We're looking at a mixed use residential, commercial, retail product here with 250 market rate apartments.” With 600,000 square feet of space, there's opportunity for even more than housing development. “This will essentially become a courtyard with retail and restaurants and coffee shops.”

Renderings show a live, work, and play destination, rooted in Augusta’s history. “It behooves us as developers, and entrepreneurs to really invest in the city, and we feel very strongly that this is part of a transformation for Augusta.” Past pieces of chipped paint and broken windows, King Mill is salvageable.

It's close to downtown and at the heart of what's already transforming into a cyber arena. “What that'll do it will rejuvenate Downtown Augusta. We're not going to see the kind of growth and expansion commercially in Augusta until we bring people into the city.”

Cape Augusta says they're still a little over a year away from breaking ground on this project. They expect to do that September of next year. They say it should take about a year and a half for this project to be complete.

Trump elevates Cyber Command to independent operation

President Trump moved Friday to make U.S. Cyber Command its own independent command in a long-awaited decision.

The president issued a statement that he was elevating cyber to “the status of a Unified Combatant Command focused on cyberspace operations.

“This new Unified Combatant Command will strengthen our cyberspace operations and create more opportunities to improve our nation’s defense,” Trump said in a statement. “The elevation of United States Cyber Command demonstrates our increased resolve against cyberspace threats and will help reassure our allies and partners and deter our adversaries.”

According to press reports, the National Defense Authorization Act passed by both the House and Senate last year authorized this elevation. Currently, Cyber had been under U.S. Strategic Command.

“With the elevation of Cyber Command to the status of a Unified Combatant Command, cyber warfighting has taken a key step toward becoming a mainstream tactical military capability,” said retired Rear Admiral Bill Leigher, director of Government Cyber Solutions for Raytheon. “Bringing cyber to the front lines requires making the capability scalable and usable by soldiers. This means integrating current keyboard-based tradecraft into cyber weapons systems that soldiers can be trained to use in the battlespace. This will put cyber weapons in the hands of those who need them most – soldiers on the front lines.”

The move also presumably gives Cyber more independence. Trump said the move will “help streamline command and control of time-sensitive cyberspace operations by consolidating them under a single commander with authorities commensurate with the importance of such operations,” according to the statement. “Elevation will also ensure that critical cyberspace operations are adequately funded.”

There are nine current Unified Combatant Commands, some of which provide command for specific areas, such as the U.S. European Command, while others provide broader services, such as the U.S. Transportation Command, according to the Department of Defense.

“Georgia (Congressional District) 12 is at the forefront of cyber defense and I was excited to see President Trump’s announcement elevating the status of United States Cyber Command,” U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said in a statement Friday afternoon. “Today’s announcement brings much-need attention to cyber and puts more emphasis on this important mission. While we wait to see the full impact this will have on our area, I am proud to work with an Administration that recognizes the importance of cyber warfare. I will work tirelessly to ensure that Fort Gordon benefits during this transition and look forward to discussing these changes during my visit next week” to the fort.

“Elevating Cyber Command to provide more capability — on both Offense and Defense — is a great decision by @POTUS,” U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., tweeted Friday after the announcement. Graham serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

U.S. Army Cyber Command is building a new headquarters at Fort Gordon and is slated to begin its move there next year. The site also houses a significant National Security Agency operation.

In the statement, Trump said he is directing the Secretary of Defense to explore whether to separate Cyber Command from the NSA. Recommendations on that will come later, according to the statement.

Community prepping for change from cyber industry Building Up Augusta's Mill District

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Imagine, brand new apartments along the Augusta Canal.

Plans to remodel King Mill are in the early stages, but the community already bracing for change, change that officials say needs to include the community that has called the area home for generations.

New cyber. New facilities and jobs. And now, new apartments.

“The residential portion of Harrisburg is going to change. You’re going to have a lot of young millennials there,” said Augusta Commissioner Bill Fennoy.

The latest development to come out of the new cyber campus proposed by Georgia Governor Nathan Deal shows plans to refurbish King Mill’s loft style.

“People are going to want to come to Augusta and in turn make it a more metropolitan area,” said Erica Schoultz, Director of Augusta’s Boys and Girls Club.

Commissioner Fennoy wants to make sure that metropolitan change doesn't force out communities that have called Augusta their home for generations.

MATT: "Do you expect the cost of living to go up in the area?"
FENNOY: "Yes."

He says cyber will provide new opportunities, and people need to seize them.

"Cape Global have actually expressed an interest in getting the people who live in Harrisburg involved in the cyber industry,” said Fennoy.

To Commissioner Fennoy, people that live in the area should be given a chance to be a part of the industry that will transform their area; not just outsiders.

“I serve with students at the Boys and Girls Club, and I know that their parents are often looking for work, for opportunities to grow,” said Schoultz.

Shoultz says education is key.

"Introducing our students, even as early as first grade, to science and technology."

She wants kids who grow up with the industry in their backyard to stay and work here.

"With cyber security, it's going to provide internships for students that are graduating, it's going to provide jobs."

Students who may one day call the King Mill apartments their homes.

"Cyber is going to be the catalyst for that happening,” said Fennoy.

Commissioner Fennoy says around 30 state agencies are expected to come to the area and be a part of the new cyber campus boom. He says he wants the community to succeed in changing with the times, but there needs to be a plan to set people up for success that the city, developers, and neighbors all need to be a part of.

WRDW Sibley Mill Expansion for 250 Units of Market Rate Apartments

http://www.wrdw.com/video?vid=439826173

Sibley Mill booms with cyber while King Mill could be future housing

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- EDTS Cyber and Cape Augusta have partnered to create a new company called Secure IOT.

In this partnership, EDTS has the software and Cape Augusta has the training and ability to hire new employees.

Charles Johnson is the CEO of EDTS and EDTS Cyber, when it comes to the new company he said "There are so many devices coming out daily there are new things that everyone is plugging into their networks at home or the office and they don't realize the repercussions that brings, so we're bringing in new and emerging technologies along with tried and true networking practices to really bring that total security package to the marketplace."

Secure IOT stands for the Internet of Things, which are things that need security.

"It would be technology that a person would put in their home, that will be a holistic security platform for everything from their refrigerator, to their thermostat, to their play station, to their Apple TV that is the RND that were putting in right now," said Johnson.

Secure IOT is only in the beginning stages of building this new technology at Sibley Mill, but once it is up and running there will be even more going on in the Augusta Cyberworks area.

Johnson said, "Being part of Augusta Cyberworks here this campus its the whole model of live work play and then we're going to have the data center so live, work, play, host."

Sibley is expanding as a a work and training facility for cyber employees, and one day employees will even have the option to live in the larger mill next door.

"This whole campus being one stop shopping for future candidates, whether it's the training facility that's going next door or the ability to have folks live next door at King Mill when there's the 250 apartments we're putting in so were really excited about that," said Johnson.

Cape Augusta is also partnering with the Augusta Warrior Project and the University of Maryland Baltimore County Training Centers to bring veterans to Cape Augusta for cyber training, in order for them to work for Secure IOT in the future.

Sibley Mill booms with cyber while King Mill could be future housing

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- EDTS Cyber and Cape Augusta have partnered to create a new company called Secure IOT.

In this partnership, EDTS has the software and Cape Augusta has the training and ability to hire new employees.

Charles Johnson is the CEO of EDTS and EDTS Cyber, when it comes to the new company he said "There are so many devices coming out daily there are new things that everyone is plugging into their networks at home or the office and they don't realize the repercussions that brings, so we're bringing in new and emerging technologies along with tried and true networking practices to really bring that total security package to the marketplace."

Secure IOT stands for the Internet of Things, which are things that need security.

"It would be technology that a person would put in their home, that will be a holistic security platform for everything from their refrigerator, to their thermostat, to their play station, to their Apple TV that is the RND that were putting in right now," said Johnson.

Secure IOT is only in the beginning stages of building this new technology at Sibley Mill, but once it is up and running there will be even more going on in the Augusta Cyberworks area.

Johnson said, "Being part of Augusta Cyberworks here this campus its the whole model of live work play and then we're going to have the data center so live, work, play, host."

Sibley is expanding as a a work and training facility for cyber employees, and one day employees will even have the option to live in the larger mill next door.

"This whole campus being one stop shopping for future candidates, whether it's the training facility that's going next door or the ability to have folks live next door at King Mill when there's the 250 apartments we're putting in so were really excited about that," said Johnson.

Cape Augusta is also partnering with the Augusta Warrior Project and the University of Maryland Baltimore County Training Centers to bring veterans to Cape Augusta for cyber training, in order for them to work for Secure IOT in the future.

EDTS Named a 2017 Tech Elite IT Provider

EDTS Named a 2017 Tech Elite IT Provider

Staff Report From Augusta CEO

Thursday, August 3rd, 2017

EDTS has earned a place amongst an “exclusive group of North American IT solution providers,” the 2017 CRN Tech Elite 250. The criteria for gaining a place on the list, compiled annually by CRN, include the number and level of advanced technical certifications held by the company.

Technical certifications, provided by leading vendors like Microsoft and VMware, allow IT companies to stay cutting edge. Hiring managed service providers with advanced certifications grants organizations access to top-tier services without shouldering the cost of maintaining the same level of expertise in an internal team. A few vendor certifications are only accessible to IT firms like EDTS.

In addition to Gold Microsoft, Enterprise VMware, and Premier Cisco certifications, the engineers at EDTS also carry standardized technical certifications, including:

• CISSP (Certified Information Systems Security Professional)

• CISA (Certified Information Systems Auditor)

• CCFP (Certified Cyber Forensics Professional)

• CompTIA (a family of advanced technical certifications)

“We’re fortunate to have a large staff with dedicated areas of expertise, but it goes a step further than that,” says Charles Johnson, Founder and CEO of EDTS. “Our commitment to our clients’ profitability has made us more than just their IT guys. We’re their trusted partners.”

This is the second time EDTS has been named in CRN’s Tech Elite 250, which has shown an increased focus on network security-related skills in recent years.

Army Trains Soldiers as Cyberspace Solution Engineers

FORT GEORGE G. MEADE, Maryland -- The 780th Military Intelligence (MI) Brigade partnered with the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Training Center to build the course curriculum and provide instruction for the Tool Developer Qualification Course (TDQC) and on July 28 the second graduating class received their certificates of completion at the Fort Meade Post Theater.

TDQC is an intense 35-week education program designed to educate individuals who have little to no computer programming experience and have been identified through an assessment as having the aptitude and desire to become a computer programmer.

"My basic understanding was shallower. The course helped deepen the concepts and reinforce those things I did know -- It was a confidence booster," said Spc. Marlin Washington, 781st MI Battalion, the distinguished honor graduate for the class. "The biggest takeaway was how it helped me learn how to research."

According to the TDQC program manager, Chief Warrant Officer 4 Thomas Bichard, graduates of the TDQC are proficient to an intermediate level in creating programs using the C and Python computer programming languages. Additionally, The TDQC provides an education path for individuals to become experienced at approximately 90 percent of the identified critical developer requirements that an individual must be able to articulate and demonstrate through practical application in order to be certified as a Cyberspace Solution Engineer. 

A Cyberspace Solution Engineer is a versatile, highly trained individual responsible for the analysis of system vulnerabilities, product research, cyberspace solution development, documentation, and implementation of software and hardware solutions that operate in and through cyberspace and serve as a force multiplier for maneuver forces. 

"The course teaches the basic concepts of programming and quickly gets you to a level where you can be beneficial to a (cyber) team producing useful programs," said Spc. Andrew Fricke, 781st MI Battalion, the honor graduate for the class.

Chief Warrant Officer 5 Mark Mollenkopf, the command chief warrant officer for U.S. Army Cyber Command (ARCYBER) was the guest speaker at the ceremony and challenged the graduates with humor in his remarks.

"Cultivate passion for what you do and for those around you," said Mollenkopf. "It's wise to avoid going too far (into debates) that often crop up such as VI versus EMACS, Python versus PhP, Tabs versus White Space, Java versus .Net. These can be humorous diversions, but if taken too far can negatively affect the team culture and create an unproductive cliquish work environment."

This graduation marks the second iteration of the TDQC. To date, there have been 29 graduates from the course. The third iteration of the course is currently in session at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and the fourth iteration is scheduled to start at the UMBC Training Center in September.