Reports of criminal activity, lax security, open drug-dealing and gunshots fired in the Bon Air apartments parking lot have Augusta Commission looking into matters at the historic property.
Richmond Summit in downtown Augusta has also come under scrutiny for similar reasons.
Neighbors near the Summerville icon have complained for months that the Bon Air has become a place for ne’er-do-wells who shoot guns in the parking lot for fun rather than people in need due to age or disability.
At the Jan. 25 meeting, Augusta commissioners heard from complex owners of both the Bon Air apartments, located at 2101 Walton Way, and the Richmond Summit, located at 744 Broad St. about their plans to address escalating crime that at the two Section 8 funded properties.
Nick Boehm, representing complex owner Redwood Housing, acknowledged that both Bon Air and Richmond Summit have crime issues and gave what seemed to be a futuristic synopsis that included enhanced security gates as well as robots.
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The Bon Air and Richmond Summit apartment complexes were both sold in 2021 to Redwood Housing out of Redwood, Texas. The Bon Air sold for $15.25 million, and Richmond Summit sold for $9.5 million, according to previous reports in The Augusta Press.
Boehm promised to enact new high tech security standards camera systems within a year at the properties that will include installing high definition cameras sensitive enough to record a license plate number on a moving vehicle as well as robots equipped with night vision cameras to record the comings and goings in the parking lot.
Several commissioners chuckled at the reference to robots patroling the properties.
“Oh, yeah, let somebody come around with a baseball bat and that is the end of that high tech robot. I can’t buy any of that for one minute,” said District 10 Commissioner John Clarke after the meeting.
Soon after the purchase of Bon Air and Richmond Summit, Redwood Housing applied for a zoning variance that would allow them to expand the Bon Air property by adding as many as 23 new studio and one-bedroom units in what is currently the former ballroom area.
The variance, which would have waived the code-enforced number of parking spaces available at the property, was denied by the Augusta Planning Commission on Jan. 5 after neighbors complained of criminal activity on the property and petitioned against adding more apartments to an already dense complex.
Redwood Housing gave a presentation to the Augusta Public Services Committee that was lacked renderings or drawings of any possible improvements proposed at either location, but focused more on incremental steps based on Redwood’s ability to obtain state and federal funding.
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District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson did not seem to be impressed by the presentation, noting to Boehm that he had personally witnessed people sleeping in the stairwells at both Bon Air and Richmond Summit.
“To be honest with you Mr. Boehm, when I go onto these properties, I can barely stand the smell, so the code enforcement issues, the security issues and the basic issues where quality of life is concerned is alarming to me,” Johnson said.
Before any work is done on the Bon Air building, Redwood Housing will need to apply again for a variance before the Augusta Planning Commission.
The current Bon Air structure was built as a luxury hotel in 1924 and has for the past half century served as affordable housing for senior adults and the physically challenged.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
