AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – A public hearing was held Wednesday, June 4th, to discuss the demolition of Dogwood Terrace Apartments, which have largely been abandoned.
According to the Augusta-Richmond County Commission, a substantial amount of the public housing complex, “approximately 940 feet of Fifteenth Avenue, 326 feet of Dudley Street, 1264 feet of First Avenue, 1155 feet of Second Avenue, 1393 feet of Third Avenue, 722 feet of Leonard Drive and 877 feet of Old Savannah Road,” is now abandoned and qualifies for demolition.
In an announcement about Wednesday’s public hearing, according to the commission, a large portion of Dogwood Terrace “has ceased to be used by the public to the extent that no substantial public purpose is served by it,” meaning that the commission sees no reason “that its removal from the country road system is otherwise in the best interests of the public.”
An application for demolition was submitted in 2022, and there are plans to redevelop the property. Steps to help relocate Dogwood Terrace residents began in March 2024.
The public hearing Wednesday acknowledged that a few families still live at the Dogwood Terrace Apartments property, despite it largely being abandoned, and will need to be relocated before the demolition project begins.
“Right now, we have about four families sill living in Dogwood Terrace,” according to Douglas Freeman, Deputy Executive Director at the Augusta Housing Authority. “We’re working on those final relocations. We’re getting ready to put in a request for proposals for a developer partner, and then we’ll begin the design phase. While that’s going on, we’ll start the demolition probably some time this fall with the hope of having the demolition completed by early 2026.”
The overall redevelopment of the property is expected to take four to six years to complete – in March 2024, Deputy Executive Director Freeman told WJBF that the plan was to redevelop the site in order to provide both “dignity in housing” and more affordable housing opportunities.
While the Augusta Housing Authority says that the housing available at Dogwood Terrace had become outdated and were too small for the families living there, residents at Dogwood Terrace said that it was violent crime in the area, which included the drive-by shooting death of six-year-old Arbrie Anthony in January 2022, that had many residents eager to leave, with one resident telling WJBF in May 2022, “It’s to the point where I don’t even let my kids come outside because I feel like they may get hurt,” adding that she didn’t let her children sleep on the top bunk of their bunk bed because of fears that it’d put them at risk for being another drive-by shooting victim.
Those wishing to comment on abandonment and demolition of Dogwood Terrace were encouraged to do so by appearing at the hearing – written comments were also solicited by the Clerk of the Commission Office and could be mailed or delivered to Lena Bonner, Clerk of the Commission of Augusta-Richmond County, Georgia at Suite 220, Augusta-Richmond County Municipal Building, 535 Telfair Street, Augusta, Georgia 30901.
Photojournalist credit: Gary Hipps
