McKnight Construction Company to build center for regional middle school students to learn about entrepreneurship, career readiness, and financial literacy.  

Augusta, GA – Junior Achievement of Georgia (JA) is proud to announce that McKnight Construction Company, a nationally recognized company based in Augusta, GA, has been selected as the Construction Manager for JA’s Discovery Center of the CSRA. JA of Georgia, in partnership with the Columbia County School District and the Richmond County School System, plans to open the JA Discovery Center of the CSRA in Evans, GA in late 2023.

“McKnight Construction is honored to bring a Discovery Center to our Augusta Community,” said Blakely Downs, Director of Marketing for McKnight Construction Company. “Junior Achievement of Georgia is a tremendous organization, and we look forward to a successful collaboration with JA and our longtime partners the Richmond County and Columbia County School Districts.”

Columbia County School District has invited JA to build the Discovery Center in its support complex located at 4395 River Watch Parkway. The facility is more than 300,000 square feet, and the JA Discovery Center will occupy approximately 30,000 square feet inside the facility.

“We are excited to partner with McKnight Construction on this project,” said John Hancock, President & CEO of JA of Georgia. “They have been an integral part of the CSRA community for decades, and their experience and expertise will bring to life an impactful way for students to learn about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and career readiness.  This center will enable us to expand our reach into the region and will give up to 15,000 students, per year, invaluable experiences for years to come.” 

The center will provide students continued exposure to their future possibilities through two innovative programs:

JA BizTown creates an unmatched experience where 6th grade students can interact within a simulated economy and take on the challenge of fueling a business. Here, students not only discover the intricacies of being a professional and member of the community, but also realize the abundance of opportunities available within their city.

JA Finance Park provides 7th grade students the rare opportunity to experience their personal financial futures first-hand. Guided by an assigned ‘life situation,’ students participate in an immersive simulation that enables them to develop skills to successfully navigate today’s complex economic environment and discover how decisions today can impact tomorrow.

Currently, JA Discovery Centers serve approximately 80,000 students per year across five GA locations - the JA Chick-fil-A Foundation Discovery Center in Atlanta, the JA Discovery Center at Gwinnett, the Mike and Lynn Cottrell JA Discovery Center in Cumming, the JA Discovery Center of Greater Dalton, and the JA Colonial Group Discovery Center in Savannah.