Redevelopment of the historic King Mill and Sibley Mill properties in the Harrisburg area are still in consideration, according to the owners of the respective properties.
“Two hundred forty apartments in King Mill,” said Wayne Millar of real estate developer Cape Augusta, which, owns the King Mill property via Augusta Cyberworks LLC. “We’ve renovated and tenanted 170,000 square feet at both mills.”
Augusta Cyberworks acquired the former cotton mill from the Augusta Canal Authority for $3 million in 2018, save for the portion holding the hydroelectric turbines. The Canal Authority had already leased Sibley Mill long-term to Cape Augusta in 2016, also excluding the power generators.
The name “Augusta Cyberworks” was meant for Cape Augusta’s original aim for Sibley Mill: a 20-40 watt data center. By 2019, however, that plan had faltered.
“Once the governor did the one down Reynolds Street, it kind of took the winds out of the sails for that one,” said Augusta Canal Authority executive director Dayton Sherrouse. “They’ve got three tenants that are in their operating now, but the bulk of it is kind of in limbo right now.”
MORE: Real Estate Column: Low-income apartments coming to Richmond County but not Columbia County
Millar hopes to begin “in the fourth quarter” of this year, and Sherrouse does affirm that Cape Augusta is “actively working” on over 200 market-rate apartment units in the King Mill building.
“They’re bringing in another partner that has experience with renovation of some historic textile mills up in other parts of the country,” said Sherrouse. “So it’s not to the point of having a ribbon cutting you’re having it finalized yet, but it’s looking very promising at the moment.”
Augusta Cyberworks recently submitted a rezoning request to the Augusta Planning Department, petitioning to turn eastern parcels of King Mill at 1697 and 1693 Broad St. from General Business to Light Industrial.
Robby Wray is the CEO of MonteCristo Consultants, which managed the Sibley Mill data center project; and also a member of the Cape Augusta/Augusta Cyberworks management team.
In the letter of intent accompanying the application, Wray wrote Augusta Cyberworks was “part of a previous rezoning from LI to B-2,” and that the request seeks to match the current zoning of a third parcel of King Mill at 1661 Broad St.
The rezoning request is on the agenda for the Planning Commission’s Sept. 6 meeting.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
