A 9-acre development called The Premiere is offering space for lease on the site of the former Marshall Square retirement property in Evans.
The plans show 10,000 square-feet of retail space and 300 apartments.
One condition of the January 2020 rezoning approval was that the developer, Southeastern Company, would have to begin construction on the site by July 1, 2021. They’ve hit that target.
“We’ve already begun. We’ve completed demolition on the site, removing existing parking lots on the site and breaking down retaining walls,” said Matt Mills, senior member of the Southeastern development team. “We’re waiting on our civil drawings now. We expect to have those any day now, and then we’ll immediately begin the horizontal improvements on the site.”
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Mills said he and his associates were approached by members of the Board of Commissioners about what could be done to stimulate the downtown area of Evans.
“In order to have a downtown, you have to have people living there on a daily basis,” Mills said.
The 300 apartments planned for the site will include one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Mills said the architectural designs for the apartments are almost complete, and the amenities will be a big pull.
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“Name a multi-family amenity, and we’ve got it,” he said. “There’s a luxury pool we’ve designed, outdoor cabana, fitness, yoga studio, bicycle repair shop. Everything.”
In terms of the retail and restaurant space, Mills said there has already been “strong interest in over 50% of the retail space.”
In Mills’ mind, the property should accommodate two to three restaurants and a handful of smaller businesses.
“It will take about 12-16 months for us to deliver the first buildings to the public,” Mills said. “It’s going to be a successful site for the businesses that decide to partner with us here.”
When the property was re-zoned last year, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve it. District One Commissioner Connie Melear voted against.
“I work in construction and development, so I understand how retail follows density,” Melear said. “Growth is vital to attracting retail development, and retail is an important piece of the master plans in Evans Towne Center. My constituents are very much in support of less density. They prefer larger lots and bigger setbacks which give a different feel to an area than apartments and townhomes. That is what my neighbors value, and that is my strong preference when considering votes on residential zoning.”
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Melear said the people in her district who live on larger lots with larger homes are used to that level of density in the neighborhoods around them.
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“When this came up, I understood the economics of it. People can walk from the apartments to the restaurants or shops. I get that. But… who is going to live there?” she said. “I just question who will want to want to live there. Three hundred units is a lot of units.”
Melear questioned if this is a necessary level of housing density for the area.
“Maybe I will have been wrong, and that’s okay. But my thinking is to have less density and listen to my constituency.”
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com.
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