A tiny home community intended for youth aging out of the foster system sailed through the Augusta Planning Commission with recommendations for approval Monday.
Retired Army officer Jackson Drumgoole II obtained the Merry Street property from Augusta, Georgia Land Bank Authority last year. The land bank financed the sale to Drumgoole’s Bridge Builder Communities for $319,389 due after five years, according to documents obtained in a records request.
After the sale was approved, the city paid for the $22,500 emergency demolition of an existing structure at the 1140 Merry St. site, documents showed.
At the planning commission’s Monday pre-meeting, Planning and Development Director Carla DeLaney said the 25-unit development would not be staffed 24 hours a day, but Drumgoole later said DeLaney had misspoken.
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Representing owner Bridge Builder Communities, North Augusta architect Joe Gambill introduced the project’s board, who include First Citizens Bank Vice President Penny Wasden, Medical Associates Plus CEO J.R. Richards, Juvenile Court Judge Chanette Lewis and Augusta Technical College CEO Jermaine Whirl.
Gambill said the tiny home community will “address housing insecurity” among youth 18-25 aging out of the foster system. The tiny homes will be covered in “high quality vinyl” or some sort of fiber siding. The structures won’t be portable, he said.
The tiny homes will be “kind of like a dormitory” with a manager’s cottage occupied “24 hours a day,” he said.
Pollock Office Equipment, which sent multiple sales reps in support Monday, is providing office infrastructure, he said. Another partner, a well-known private security company, “is ready to sign on the dotted line.”
Occupants, the architect said, must be either full-time students, full-time employed or some combination. Bridge Builders is already taking applications through the school system, he said.
But, he said, married couples or parents with young children won’t be welcome. “If somebody has a young child, we’re not the right facility,” he said.
Rental property owner Michael Thurman lives a few blocks away and owns rental properties on two sides of the development.
Thurman said neighborhood opposition had stopped developments at Green Meadows in south Augusta and elsewhere.
The Merry Street site lacks sidewalks and the nearest bus lines are four or five blocks away, he said.
The site is located roughly off Central Avenue between the Academy of Richmond County and Paine College campuses.
Lucia Barbera, who said she lives across Merry Street from the development, asked why organizers hadn’t looked for sites closer to Augusta Tech.
McDowell Street homeowner Ben Estes said he didn’t think the area is safe for young adults.
“There’s shooting basically a half a block away,” Estes said.
Planning Commission member Douglas Prince said the board was looking for supporting voices, not opposition.
Organizer Patricia Geter, who lives eight miles away on Elders Drive, said opposition was “based on the color barrier,” while a Merry Street neighbor said the area is diverse.
“It’s the most diverse neighborhood I’ve ever lived in,” said Merry Street homeowner Donna Hastings, who favors the project.
“You should be able to put it anywhere, if it’s a good idea,” added Geter.
Each of three votes needed to approve passed 6-1 with Trisha Mallis voting no and Donnie Smith abstaining.
