Based on applications recently submitted to the Columbia County planning department, local businesses are looking to expand.
Amalfi Real Estate and Holdings LLC is requesting to rezone its property at 3535 Stardust Dr. in Martinez from R3 single-family residential to P-1 professional. The owner of Amalfi Real Estate is Dr. Maria Gangarosa, who is also the proprietor of Child NeuroBehavioral Center for Health & Wellness at the adjacent 302 Baston Road.
The center provides psychological and behavioral healthcare services to children, families and even free PTSD treatment for some veterans through the Homecoming for Veterans program. The purpose of the rezoning is to accommodate new space on the Stardust Drive property, including new treatment rooms and accompanying parking.
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This would include a 1,200-square foot addition to the existing residential structure on the property to “retain a residential look and feel for the comfort of children patients and their families,” according to the narrative document. Gangarosa also applied for a variance to reduce side buffers from 20 to 10 feet, to allow the addition of parking space and to bring the existing structure to compliance.
Total Construction Solutions is looking to open offices in Evans. The Augusta contractor submitted a request in early February to revise the S-1 zoning at its property on 4567 Cox Road to include P-1 professional uses.
The parcel, located right across the street from Evans High School, includes a 50-year-old, roughly 4,500-square foot building that has been used for a cabinet shop, a cleaning chemical supplier and several other businesses. The owners intend to renovate the building to use for offices, moving from their current site at 110 Shartom Dr.
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Evans Plaza Partners and Deep Patel are seeking a variance to add a drive-thru to the Evans Village Shopping Center. The company, based in Fort Myers, Florida, owns the building at 4408 Evans to Locks Road, which houses Gold’s Gym and the Georgia Department of Driver Services. Deep Patel is the CEO of Gas World, which owns several gas stations in the Augusta area. The narrative for the request does not detail a project for which the drive-thru would be used, but does request the amenity be allowed in Suite A, “on the end of the building facing Evans to Locks.”
The Columbia County Planning Commission is scheduled to hear the requests at Evans to Locks and Stardust Drive in its meeting on Thursday, March 2, and the request on Cox Road on March 16.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
