I hope Blanchard and Calhoun know what they're doing. Are they going to have a place to buy groceries? A palce to eat? a place to get a beer? Any office space?
An Atlanta group has backed out of a proposed retail-residential development along Walton Way Extension.
The 44-acre project, which was once known as The Forum-Augusta, is now completely under the control of Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial Corp., which was brought in to assist Forum Development Group in July.
Changes to the project received a favorable nod by the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission on Monday. The matter will go before the Augusta Commission on May 20.
What started as a 300,000-square-foot retail lifestyle center with condos on top of retail stores is now a 75,000-square-foot retail development fronting Walton Way Extension with a 330-unit apartment complex behind it.
Mark Senn, a partner with Blanchard and Calhoun, said the Forum Group turned over the project because the Atlanta group couldn't pull together the retail tenants it wanted.
"This is a better plan than what we'd seen in the past," said Randy Sasser, a resident of the adjacent Foxhall neighborhood.
He said he would prefer to see homes similar to those on the other side of I-20 built in the unnamed Blanchard and Calhoun project, but he can live with the apartment complex.
Members of Blanchard and Calhoun met last week with Foxhall residents to go over the project. There will be a wooded barrier between the project and the existing homes.
The 330 apartments will be separated into 12 buildings, explained John Lee with Blanchard and Calhoun. The units will be one to three bedrooms with rents ranging between $1,000 to $1,100 per month.
"The units are high-end. They have nine-foot ceilings, crown molding, ceramic tile," said Mr. Lee.
The gated complex will have a pool, fitness center, club house and wireless internet.
The retail portion on the site will encompass three buildings. Tenants were not announced.
Mr. Senn said design work should conclude in the fall, when the site work should begin. The project should be ready 16 months after it starts.
Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.
BACKGROUND: Atlanta-based Forum Development Group proposed the Forum-Augusta in December 2005, a 300,000-square-foot retail center, on Walton Way Extension near the Interstate 20 exit. In 2007, the plans changed to include residential units.
DEVELOPMENTS: Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial has taken over the development and is proposing a 28-acre gated apartment complex and 9 acres of retail space.
WHAT'S NEXT: The matter comes up for a vote by the Augusta Commission on May 20.
Comments
I hope Blanchard and Calhoun know what they're doing. Are they going to have a place to buy groceries? A palce to eat? a place to get a beer? Any office space?
Augusta is getting alot of projects. I just hope they would have built this somewhere in south augusta. Like near hwy 56 or in the hepzibah blythe area. Further out that way which needs more projects. And land that is waiting to be use as suburban paradise. Its so much empty land in south augusta. You could built 30 upscale neigborhoods right beside each other. All on top on this project it would be great. West augusta already has enough construction and traffic.
This would be a GREAT location for a Whole Foods which is long overdue in Augusta. I also hope the restaurants there are new to the area.
Yeah a 1,000 per month for a apartment. Is alot for one in a city the size of augusta. Apartments that are nice in atlanta cost that much or up 1400.
Obviously, by charging that much in rent, they are hoping to keep out the riff-raff. But, I agree..who wants to pay that sort of money for an apartment? Most intelligent people who have that sort of income would rather put it towards a house that they own and can invest in. But the realtors will package it as this being not just an apartment, but one with all these amentities. I just hope it doesn't blow up in their face and these apartments end up being high-end government housing! I guess if that were to happen, the fancy gates would be keeping the riff-raff IN instead of out, huh?
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