New apartments to open soon in downtown Augusta area
AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As Augusta continues to grow, the demand for new apartments and lofts in the downtown area is high.
Some of the new buildings are taking shape in historical areas like Harrisburg.
Every time you pass by the public library on James Brown Boulevard, you’re usually passing by buildings that have been an empty shadow of the past for years, but it is actually the start of a new wave of apartments coming to downtown Augusta.
The “Union Lofts Augusta” is opening up in the next month.
It’s 21 units opening up off of James Brown Boulevard and Telfair Street that all have a different story to tell. Every room looks different from the next but brings the same feel to living downtown.
“This is such a cool feature that you have the original brickwork from over 100 years ago that’s still sitting here and is a part of your bedroom,” said Jacob McClure, Executive Director of Door Post Management. “I, myself, live downtown. My wife and two daughters live on Broad Street, in a 100-year-old home and we love the idea of being able to repurpose these places instead of seeing something bad happen to them.”
They’re set to open at the beginning of March. Rent is priced between $1,500 and $2,000 a month for one to two bedrooms.
Despite being more than Augusta-Richmond County’s average at $1,241, there’s a packed waiting list.
It’s part of a new wave of 450 apartment units that are in progress around downtown, some coming this year.
The apartments on Greene Street are expected to open up in April, work continues at the Lamar building, and more than 300 units are being worked on at King Mill.
Margaret Woodard, Executive Director of the Downtown Development Authority, says: “These are market-rate apartments, the ones that are coming out of the ground, but that is going to bring demand for workforce housing and it’ll just bring more options to the table.”
And they don’t expect the growth to slow down.
“We’ve just got so many great things going on downtown that will serve as a catalyst for other things to come as well,” said Woodard.
The Downtown Development Authority also reports the demand to live downtown stems from the growth in business.
They say 56 businesses opened in the Broad Street area last year, which they say is a 10% increase from 2022.
Since 2021, they say about 1,200 apartments have been added to downtown Augusta.
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