Residents of the Sand Hills neighborhood, Augusta State University representatives and Augusta officials attended a question-and-answer workshop about the neighborhood's redevelopment plans Saturday.
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"It gives us an opportunity to work with the city on revitalization of a community like Sand Hills, which has a lot of vacant lots and dilapidated buildings," said Tim Wilson, the executive director of the Sand Hills Neighborhood Association Inc.
The meeting at Rock of Ages C.M.E. Church gave neighborhood residents and others the opportunity to have a say in the forming of a redevelopment strategy, Mr. Wilson said.
He said his association is looking to create more of a mixed-income, revitalized community in the historic neighborhood, which dates back to the mid-19th century, when it was home to domestic servants, craftsmen and laborers for the nearby Summerville neighborhood.
One problem identified by concerned residents at the meeting - though not a new problem - is illegal dumping in vacant lots or at abandoned houses.
"I wouldn't put a nickel into a house in this neighborhood if it's like that around here," said Martha Tillie, a Second Avenue resident who is involved with the neighborhood association.
Another concern voiced by some Sand Hills residents is loitering and crime in the area, and its potential effect on attracting business to a redeveloped neighborhood.
"As we redevelop and plan our community, crime and that element will become less and less of a problem," said Darren Pickett, a landscape architect with Johnson Laschober & Associates PC, the firm the Sand Hills Neighborhood Association is using to create the plan.
"With an 'eyes-on-the-street' concept, bringing houses closer to the curb, the community will be more aware of what's going on," Mr. Pickett said.
A working version of the redevelopment master plan for the Sand Hills neighborhood should be ready by July, Mr. Wilson said.
Questions and comments raised at the meeting, along with responses from questionnaires that will be distributed to local churches, will be used to help develop the plan, Mr. Wilson and Mr. Pickett said.
The plan would provide development guidelines to ensure that new construction and renovation fits with the historic neighborhood, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Mr. Wilson said.
Also in the works are signs that would help identify the neighborhood to outsiders, helping to give the area a strong sense of identity, Mr. Pickett said.
Reach Jeremy Craig at (706) 823-3409.
