AUGUSTA, Ga. – There’s a brand new community coming to south Augusta. Crews broke ground Wednesday on the Orchard Landing development on Peach Orchard Road right off Tobacco Road.
When all is said and done it’ll have more than 40 new and affordable town homes to offer. And there are plans for even more affordable housing options in the area.
Two years after buying land off Peach Orchard Road, Oscar, Jessie, and Greenspace Communities broke ground on affordable townhomes. Augusta native, Oscar Jessie says this area of town has been underdeveloped since he was growing up.
“Older housing on one side of town, newer housing on another side of town. Now it’s still the same in some parts,” said Jessie, a developer for Orchard Landing Development. “Older housing on one side of town, newer housing on another side of town. Now it’s still the same in some parts.”
Now he’s trying to make a difference in his hometown bringing 44 townhomes to Peach Orchard Road.
“It’s a remarkable feeling,” said Jessie.
But he’s not the only developer who sees potential in the area. Troy Woodis is a consultant for Avalon Consulting based in Alabama. He works with a developer who bought some of the land to create 122 affordable apartments.
“We see growth coming this way and we like to get in the path of progress,” said Woodis.
Hawthorne Welcher Junior, with Housing and Community Development, says the new communities should have a snowball effect for more growth in the area.
“It provides additional leverage. Additional leverage from a housing stock perspective. It just shows you the fact that the Augusta, Georgia Housing and Development Department might be doing it, but we’re not doing it in isolation,” said Welcher.
The first 12 town homes are set to be finished this fall, with the others coming shortly after. The entire property should be finished within the next two years.
The two apartment layouts are named Tristan and Ambreia after Jessie’s kids. The streets in the neighborhood are named Jessie Way and Faith Trail. Jessie says those are the two most important things in his life crossing paths. Family and faith. He says he wants to leave a legacy for his family, and this is his first step in doing that.
