Two low-income residential projects, the repurposing of a historical building and some proposed west Augusta townhomes are among the items the Augusta Planning Commission is scheduled to consider in its meeting on Monday afternoon.
Columbus, Ohio-based real estate company Woda Cooper Development is petitioning to rezone two commercial lots, 1427 and 1437 Broad St., owned by J-Mar Broad Street Investments, from B-2 General Business to Planned Unit Development, or PUD, to build a senior housing complex.
The proposed development, called Watson Pointe, is to consist of a four-story building with 54 units, 34 one-bedroom and 18 two-bedroom, for low-income residents aged 62 and older. The apartment would also have a community room, a covered picnic area with grills, a computer room, an arts and crafts center and more than 60 off-street parking spaces.
The property, which borders both Saint Sebastian Way and Jones St., currently has a 1,750-square foot garage, a 600-foot office building and a 140-square foot storage space.
The narrative document for the project states Woda Cooper would be partnering with non-profit homebuilder Parallel Housing, based in Athens, to develop the complex as affordable housing under the low-income housing tax credit program.
Purpose Place Cottages, a developer in Augusta, has its own affordable home project in the works for an eight-acre parcel along Old Louisville Road. It has requested to rezone 3323 Old Louisville Road from R-1E to R-1A One-family Residential to develop a tiny home community comprised of 50 one- and two-bedroom cottages, a community center, a garden, dog park and playground area.
In September of last year, the Augusta Commission approved an addition to the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance allowing tiny houses—defined as single-family dwellings 400 square feet or less—in R-1E zones by special exception within unified communities.
HD Historic Properties, based in Atlanta, plans to convert the vacant, 108-year-old Marion Building at 739 Broad St. to a mixed-use development, and has requested the property be rezoned from General Business to a PUD.
The accompanying narrative notes a “sufficient market demand for loft apartments” to support the “adaptive reuse” of the 10-story office building, with plans to develop 56 studio and one-bedroom residential units and more than 1,000 square feet of ground floor commercial space.
Designed by renowned architect Lloyd Preacher, the building as constructed in 1914 as the Chronicle Building. After sustaining fire damage in 1916, it reopened in 1922 and was renamed the Marion.
Brad Meister of BAM Residential LLC of Clarks Hill plans to develop a townhome subdivision at 3055 Dennis Road. In June 2021, the Augusta Commission approved a request by James Trotter on behalf of Purko Builders to rezone the parcel from R-1A to R-1E to build 22-unit townhome development, but that project never materialized.
BAM Residential acquired the parcel in January of this year, and is seeking an amendment to the conditions of the 2021 approval, in order to build 18 townhome units that front Dennis Road and Alice Lane.
The Augusta Planning Commission will meet Monday at 3 p.m. in the Municipal Building.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
