Revisions to a tract of land within the commercial portion of the West Lake planned unit development will come before the Columbia County Planning Commission on Sept. 16.
The revisions are planned for the 5.68-acre area between the University Prompt Care at 1100 W. Lake Commons Dr. and the Claiborne at 557 Furys Ferry Rd. It calls for 31,800 square feet of retail/commercial and restaurant space, including Swank, Posh Tots and others. The revision documents indicate it could take three to four years to fully develop the area.
The changes are “pedestrian friendly, with areas for outdoor seating for restaurants. There is also an area set aside for food truck parking to further encourage pedestrian activity,” according to the documents.
Another feature proposed is a mobile car detailing area. Two spaces are reserved and may have a shade structure over them to provide hand-washing and detailing services for customers.
Rafy Bassali, who owns the land, said he wants as much community buy-in as possible given the changes.
“Anything would be a large revision from dirt, but I don’t see large push-back,” Bassali said. “There’s not many residents of West Lake that share a property line with it, and the goal is for it to be an amenity to West Lake and the area.”
Jim Cox, chairman of the Columbia County’s Planning Commission, said that while the plans made logical sense to him at first glance, there may be some unrest from the residents of West Lake.
“It works. The first plan we saw for that area was back in 1983, so this is a significant revision,” Cox said. “People in West Lake are gonna raise hell.”
MORE: Escape Outdoors Expanding to New Location
The last time there was a development proposed in the same vicinity — across the street at 3801 Park Lane — it ended up falling through. Cox shed light on that situation.
“Don Lawrence was going to put a real estate office across the street from Zaxby’s. Lawrence ended up withdrawing his plan because if he had been denied, it would’ve been six months before he could come back and try to do something different with that property. So he withdrew without prejudice in March of 2021 in order to fight another day,” said Cox.
Columbia County Commissioner Connie Melear said that she feels for the residents of West Lake who will have a change of scenery if these revisions are to be approved, but wanted to remind them that development is inevitable. Melear is the District 1 commissioner, where the site is located.
“The folks that live in the estate section right near the entrance, they lost their minds when the Claiborne came in and then when the dermatology office and medical offices came in. I can’t say I blame them. You’ve got these big beautiful houses and then somebody is cutting down the pine trees in your backyard. On the flip side, that property had been for sale forever and had been zoned for that PUD forever,” she said. “There are 100 things that could go there based on how the PUD is written and there is a lot worse than what Rafy Bassali wants to put there. You don’t want a tattoo parlor or a strip club right there. High class retail and what’s been proposed will be the best use of the property. The folks in the middle of West Lake, they will probably think it’s great.”
MORE: Census Data Reveals Substantial Growth for Georgia and Columbia County
Melear said that while it may sound harsh, anybody that might be upset by the plans had the chance to pool their money together and keep the space empty or green.
“I truly, truly feel bad for those people whose backyard view will be changed. It’s happened to me, too, and I understand,” she said. “But that is life and that is capitalism. You don’t own what’s on the other side of your property line. These plans, they could definitely be worse.”
The plans will go through Planning and Zoning, which will make a recommendation to the County Commission, who will make the final decision.
“And to be clear, we want to hear from people that may live in there. People are welcome to come speak or call,” Melear said. “If you wait until five minutes before we vote, that’s much harder than if someone reaches out and calls and has a conversation with us about their opinions. I encourage anyone to call us. That’s what we are here for.”
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
