Big subdivision plan could reshape south Augusta’s Richmond Hill area

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proposed 469-home subdivision off Bobby Jones Expressway could significantly reshape south Augusta, bringing major new investment, traffic, and school impacts to the Richmond Hill area. Here are five things to know:

1. Nearly 500 new homes

• The project, called “Benson Road,” proposes about 469 single-family detached houses with amenities and open space on Benson Road, just south of Bobby Jones Expressway (I-520), near Exit 7.
• The development site sits at 3350 Benson Road, a dead-end road almost a mile long that is currently only accessible from Richmond Hill Road, underscoring how transformative the project would be for that corridor.

2. Backed by a national homebuilder

• The applicant is the Atlanta office of Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group Inc., a majority-owned subsidiary of high-volume national homebuilder D.R. Horton.
• Forestar’s involvement signals a large, master-planned community rather than a small infill subdivision, positioning the project as a key piece of Augusta’s residential growth.

3. A $141 million investment

• At full buildout, the Benson Road community is estimated to be worth about $141 million, according to documents filed with the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.
• The development is projected to generate roughly $1.5 million a year in property tax revenue, bolstering local government finances and potentially funding infrastructure and services in the surrounding area.

4. Traffic and road changes ahead

• The subdivision is expected to add about 4,099 vehicle trips per day, a significant increase for Benson Road and nearby Richmond Hill Road.
• To handle the extra traffic, the plan calls for new right-turn deceleration lanes at four driveways and three left-turn lanes along Benson Road, indicating substantial roadway modifications tied to the project.

5. Impact on local schools and planning

• Homes in the Benson Road community would be zoned for Richmond Hill Elementary School, Richmond Hill Middle School and Butler High School, concentrating hundreds of new families into those attendance zones.
• Richmond County has already submitted a “Development of Regional Impact” (DRI) statement for the project to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, marking it as a proposal with implications beyond the immediate neighborhood.

This story was created with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Journalists were involved in every step of the information-gathering, review, editing, and publishing process. Learn more. 

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Big subdivision plan could reshape south Augusta’s Richmond Hill area