In the middle of the Summerville area and located within walking distance of Augusta University is the long-neglected Sand Hills neighborhood. Now, 9% of the neighborhood is for sale in an attempt to attract developers to build in the area.
Sand Hills, a historically Black neighborhood originally known as Elizabethtown, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. The neighborhood is located between Surrey Center and the Augusta Country Club and extends all the way to Augusta University.
For decades, the area has been dotted with blighted buildings sandwiched in-between well-kept historic cottages. However, the area is beginning to look radically different with many of the blighted buildings removed leaving vacant lots that are ripe for development.
The initiative began several years ago when Lucien Williams began buying up property in the area. Williams, who owns a tax service, says that he discovered the Sand Hills area and decided to buy up some rental property as a side gig.
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“Over time, I have accumulated some land out there, and over time, I’ve also torn down some houses that were beyond rental and beyond repair,” Williams says.
Williams estimates that he has torn down between 40 to 50 structures that were uninhabitable.
Recently, Williams enlisted the help of Cliff Bramble of Keller Williams Realty of Peachtree Corners, Georgia to find a developer or a group of developers to take the neighborhood to a new level.
The website revivesandhills.com calls the area an investment opportunity and offers some of the potential ideas for the property, which includes 9% of the neighborhood’s acreage.
Nine houses and 23 lots are part of the offer which has a combined price tag of $5.2 million.
The website compares the Sand Hills site to Atlanta’s East Lake, Krog Street, Vine City, and Summer Hill neighborhoods.
“I’m not into developments. What we are trying to do is market this land to a whole new audience,” Williams said.
Local historian Joyce Law, who is retired from the Lucy Craft Laney Museum, says she is excited about the plans, and she hopes it will spur more interest in the history of the area.
During the days of the early 20th Century when Summerville was a winter colony for wealthy Northerners, the area was home to domestic workers who were a huge part of creating the “Southern hospitality” that Augusta is famous for nationally.
“I prefer to call them estate artisans, because these were skilled folks, and their employers were extremely loyal to them,” Law says.
More landowners have jumped on board, including the current owner of the Weed School, a mainly art deco complex that was built in 1937 and closed for good in 2009.
Since its closure, the Weed School has been subject to vandalism, and neighbors have complained for years about the homeless that use the building for shelter, according to previous press reports.
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According to Bramble, there are multiple possibilities for the Weed School as a sort of “anchor” location. Bramble says the building is perfect for office space, a mixed-use entertainment facility aimed at Augusta University students or apartments and condominiums.
However, Bramble is quick to add that what he envisions is a total redevelopment of the area, but not to the degree of razing the entire area and starting over.
“This is a historic area, and I see that history being preserved. No livable buildings are being demolished, and no one is being forced out of their homes,” Bramble said.
Law has already been part of a recent effort to spotlight Sand Hills’ history assisting Historic Augusta with its annual Walk With the Spirits tour in late October. The Summerville-Fitten Cemetery was part of the tour.
“If you go out to the Summerville-Fitten Cemetery, there is a fascinating story behind every one of those headstones,” Law said.
According to Bramble, the idea is to take a mixed-use approach where affordable housing, mainly for college students, can be located near Augusta University and more expensive family homes constructed near Augusta Country Club.
To learn more about, visit revivesandhills.com.
Scott Hudson is the senior reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
