As city leaders weigh how to accommodate future growth, the Augusta Commission is scheduled to consider a proposal for a new $141 million housing development south of Bobby Jones Expressway at its Oct. 20 meeting.
The development proposal calls for a residential community of about 469 single-family detached homes on Benson Road, with amenities and open space.
If approved, homes in the subdivision would be zoned for Richmond Hill Elementary School, Richmond Hill Middle School and Butler High School.
The Atlanta office of Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of high-volume homebuilder D.R. Horton, is seeking a rezoning to accommodate the subdivision
at 3350 Benson Road, near Exit 7 of Interstate 520, according to city planning documents and an application filed in July with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
The Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission approved the rezoning request at its meeting Oct. 5.
The nearly 142-acre site is on Benson Road, a dead-end road that stretches almost a mile and is accessible only from Richmond Hill Road. The property is owned by Maxwell Richmond Hill Road Properties LLC, a company represented by Macon furniture store owner Bert Maxwell.
Forestar develops about one in every 50 single-family homesites in the United States, according to its website.
According to Forestar's DCA application, the development would have an estimated buildout value of about $141 million and could generate about $1.5 million annually in property tax revenue.
The project is expected to generate about 4,099 vehicle trips per day and would require several road improvements, according to a traffic study accompanying the rezoning application. Those include right-turn deceleration lanes on Benson Road at four proposed entrances and three left-turn lanes serving development access points.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: City to consider new $141 million south Augusta neighborhood
