Area Development and Construction (Savannah, Martinez: to live in, housing market, permit)

[luke2401]

I mean an actual Hilton, like the one in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. Not a Hilton Garden Inn or Doubletree.

[Eastclevelandguy]

Originally Posted by luke2401

I mean an actual Hilton, like the one in Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee. Not a Hilton Garden Inn or Doubletree.

The Hilton is a full service tier hotel just like the Double Tree and hotels in the Curio collection(The Partridge Inn Augusta) in my mind it wouldn't make much sense for them to add another Hotel of that same class in.

[Airforceguy]

The first topic on the agenda was a special exception to build about sixty townhomes on a property on Belair Road. They decided to approve those plans.

Leaders also discussed making apartments and a retirement community on Tobacco Road. This rezoning decision was also approved.

An overview on the downtown redevelopment plan was talked about Monday and leaders said the number one issue raised by the public was parking. Some problems with parking stem from the same spots being counted multiple times.

The Planning Department spent the last six months to a year updating the Downtown Redevelopment Master Plan that came out in 2013. It's gone in front of the public and today it went in front of the Planning Commission to be reviewed.

The main problem people are bringing up is parking. The director says some of the issues are that people are not aware of the free parking options. Another one is businesses and apartments are overlapping, counting the same spot as their own.


This plan is all about coming up with solutions. One of those is a possible private partnership to have a circulator downtown. It would be like a van or bus that would make a few stops downtown. This would be folks could park elsewhere, including the medical district.

Augusta Planning Commission talks housing, downtown parking

[Airforceguy]

I could definitely see the southern end of Lincoln County becoming more developed in 20-25 years because of spillover from Columbia...

In a few months, cleared lots in Appling could have brand new homes, although they are not in typical neighborhoods, and are not close to the center of town.

"Buyers are looking for some space, they're looking to have chickens, they're looking to have animals, they're looking to have privacy," said John DeFoor, a more than 20-year rural real estate agent.

Recently, he says there's been an uptick in lots and homes sold, even if drivers winding around the rural country roads cannot tell at first glance.

"Since 2014, until today, you about can't keep one on the market, they're selling relatively quickly, at the right price," he said, "People my age and older are saying, I'm looking to get back out to what more I grew up on."


That's because the busy roads, developments and shopping centers used to look much more like the northern reaches of the county.

The County says this is something they're seeing too, and they predict, as more busy roads are widened, it's going to continue.

"[My wife and I] just decided that we needed space," said Wayne Bridges, the county Tax Commissioner, but now, a rural landowner.

He saw the writing on the wall.

"I think it will become rare. and that's unfortunate, but at the same time there's still a lot of land," he explained.

For those who know the countryside best, it comes don to one question.

"Is a landowner willing to sell?" said DeFoor, "And you know, most of the time there's some sentimental value in there, but at some point it's going to come down to whether it's worth more to someone else than it is to that person."

According to the Development Authority, the next 20 years, 72,000 more people are expected to come to Columbia County. Buyers and sellers alike say if you want the land now, you've got to go after it.

Lifelong citizens choosing to move to northern reaches of Columbia County

[Airforceguy]

Richmond County will soon have a brand new elementary school.

The new school will sit on 28.24 acres on Harper Franklin Avenue near Jimmie Dyess Parkway. The school board purchased the property for $800,000.

In 2015, school leaders said the school would help alleviate overcrowding at Sue Reynolds Elementary and support the influx of new families from Fort Gordon.

Richmond County confirms plans for new elementary school

[Airforceguy]

"It's going to be over 16,000 square feet and we have two practices here located on campus which need more space to grow," says Carlos Milanes, CEO of Edgefield County Hospital.

Edgefield County Hospital and Self Regional Health Care are partnering up to add an additional medical office. Half of it will be a Self Medical Primary Practice, the other half will be leased to Edgefield County Hospital. They plan on re-opening their Peachtree Medical Center that closed on October 1st to the new location.

Something that Milanes says residents will have more options. "This hospital to the community is huge, a lot of rural hospitals have closed, this gives us roots and gives us a foundation from which we can build and I think it gives people a sense of security that the hospital is not going to go nowhere."

But this announcement is also tackling another issue.

"There was a concern that many of the physicians in the county are getting along in age and they're thinking about retirement so we really need young new doctors to move into the county," says Resident Charles Brightharp.

And it's a chance to add up and coming physicians like Edgefield Native, Dr. Rashard Brightharp to the mix.

"I certainly would have never thought at the end of my residency the two hospitals would collaborate to form a partnership but it is a blessing," says Brightharp. He say's hes glad he can give back to his community. "I grew up here and I love this community I'm just excited to come back and serve."

Edgefield County Hospital has groundbreaking for new medical off - WFXG FOX 54 Augusta - Your News One Hour Earlier

[Airforceguy]

An Aldi's and Chik-Fil-A are coming to Grovetown...

There are some big plans for one of the big, empty plots of land. Within the next year, a Chikfila and an Aldi will plant roots across from the existing Gateway shopping center. But opening its doors even soon, in early December: a Culver's.

"I fell in love with the restaurant. They have very good customer service," said Tom Tabor, the co-owner and operator, "Like Chikfila is down here - Culver's is up in Wisconsin."

Tabor and his father always dreamed of owning their own place. In finding a place to set up shop, the choice was always Columbia County. And more recently, in this area specifically.

"The high school, all the apartments going in across the street, we felt like it was a really good location," said Tabor.


"It's easy to work with developers and architects and designers when we explain why we do what we do," said Nayna Mistry, the county's Planning Manager.

County planners say this corridor doesn't have a design overlay, or a set of guidelines on how buildings should look. A handful of other places in the county do, but builders have worked to make sure the growth looks good in this area.

"It's kind of developed its own pattern of buildings and some of the recent rezonings that have taken place there, we've made sure they've conformed to the idea that's already set up," said Mistry.

Now, the county wants your two cents on which new buildings "fit the mold" moving forward by filling out a survey, rating the best in commercial and professional growth from this year.

Defining the look of future Columbia County growth

[Airforceguy]

The applicant, Connelly Development, and owner Palmetto Crossing, LP requested Council to move forward on a now 48-unit multi-family complex to be located on five acres on Owens Street, just off of Dougherty Road. The complex would include two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments.


The motion nearly failed for the lack of a second. Council member Philip Merry approved the motion, which was seconded by Mayor Rick Osbon after council remained silent.

Osbon seconded the motion for sake of discussion.

Developer Kevin Connelly spoke to Council during Monday's meeting, asking what more he would need to do to get this project moving forward. Work on the proposed property, which Connelly now owns, has stalled since the apartment complex last appeared on the City Council agenda back in January.

“We have done everything City Council has asked of us,” he said. “We have completed traffic studies, developed a comprehensive plan and reduced our number of units from 60 to 48.

“I’m a little confused about the lack of a second from Council,” Connelly said. “We have agreed to donate the property for the access road. It’s not a smooth financial move on my part, but I want to be a good neighbor and do my part.”

City Council approves Dougherty Road apartment complex project | News | aikenstandard.com

[Airforceguy]

Downtown Edgefield makeover....

The South Carolina Department of Commerce, or SCDOC, recently awarded a Community Development Block Grant worth $447,088 to the Town of Edgefield. According to a news release from the SCDOC, the money will be used for “Courthouse Square Streetscape Improvements.”


Asked for details, LeDuc said: “Courthouse Square in downtown Edgefield currently has two-way traffic. We are going to go in and make it one-way (counterclockwise) around the square. That will allow us to widen the sidewalks by around 10 feet, and by doing that, we will be able to put in more trees and more benches. We’ll also put in some tables and some bench swings while making the square more pedestrian and visitor friendly.”

Tompkins Alley and Potters Alley will become pedestrian-only areas.

“We also are looking to build a parking lot off of the square that looks like it probably will be located on Buncombe Street,” LeDuc said.

In addition, Edgefield has received $80,000 from the South Carolina National Heritage Corridor Grant Program.

“We will be using that grant to put up what we call ‘way finding’ signage, ” LeDuc said. “This is directional signage for visitors that will point out where different attractions and historical buildings are at. Everything will be color-coded. There will be green signs for businesses and orange signs for historical places. We are going to be adding 24 of those in the downtown area.”

The funds also will be used to purchase and install "Welcome to Edgefield" and parking signs.

“Altogether, there are probably going to be about 35 signs that will be paid for with this grant,” LeDuc said.

Edgefield finalizing plans for a downtown renaissance | News | aikenstandard.com

[Airforceguy]

A local developer is hoping to put 140 homes on 60 acres in Harlem....

A local developer hopes to put 140 homes on a little over 60 acres of land. It would be one of the biggest new developments in the city.

It's currently zoned as residential, meaning the owner could go ahead and develop right now. But, they're looking to rezone it - to a Planned Unit Development, or PUD.

It's wordy, but with a big impact.

PUDs and PRDs, or Planned Residential Developments are newer zoning classifications. They allow for multiple size lots, and houses in the same neighborhood, with a greater focus on the design. County leaders say for brand new neighborhoods, this zoning classification should be on the rise.

But while it favors a mixture of housing types, it could mean more houses in less space.

"One hundred twenty homes in there is one thing, and that's been approved," said neighbor Bill Speer, who lives on Fairview Drive, "But increasing [the number of homes] with all the traffic and everything else, I think is an issue."

Newer zoning classifications could mean less space, but more design control