The Augusta Planning Commission is slated to consider a host of proposed developments throughout the city during its October meeting on Monday afternoon.
One of them is an apartment complex off Gordon Highway. Winter Park, Fla.-based developer Hillpointe has petitioned Richmond County to amend the conditions of a rezoning of some 44 acres along Reservation Way.
Hillpointe aims to build 480 residential units, in several two to three story buildings across three parcels of land near the intersection of Gordon Highway and I-520. A fitness center, swimming pool and a clubhouse are among the planned amenities.
In January of this year, the Augusta Commission approved rezoning the property from B-2 General Business to R3-C Multiple family Residential to make way for the project, with eight conditions. One of the conditions required the developer to combine the three parcels into one, and another was that it obtain an egress easement agreement with the owner of the hotel adjacent property, for the proposed emergency access point.
Now Hillpointe is petitioning to have the latter condition removed, stating in the accompanying letter of intent that it had been working with the adjacent property owner on the easement issue up until the latter put up the hotel property for sale. The developer has since been conferring with the Augusta Fire Department to develop an alternative plan that would not require the easement agreement.
The company STP Development is also seeking an amendment to a condition of a previous rezoning in south Augusta. In 2021 the developer received approval to rezone two tracts, totaling more than 170 acres, along Brown Road in Hephzibah from R-1 to R-1E Single-family Residential.
The Brown Road project, called Wood Glen, entails construction of 287 single-family lots, both townhomes and detached units.
One of the 16 conditions of the rezoning approval was that 113 acres be preserved as greenspace. The current petition requests the county to reduce this requirement to 100 acres, as the design process for the second phase of the development has made revisions necessary, according to the letter of intent.
Plans for the new subdivision now call for five detention ponds, rather than the initial three; and the property owners now intend to build 24-foot-wide townhomes, rather than the 20-foot units in the original plans.
The Gordon Group is requesting to rezone about 30 acres of its property at 4200 Valencia Lane from R-1D One-family Residential and R-3C Multiple-family Residential to R-1E. The company is making way for the next phase of the Village at Goshen development, which currently consists of more than 120 attached units.
The new phase would add 52 two-bedroom and 25 one-bedroom townhomes to the subdivision.
The Augusta Planning Commission will meet Monday, Oct. 3 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.
