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Mayor Johnson outlines housing projects, bond authorization and Dogwood Terrace demolition plans
Summary
In the State of the City address Mayor Garner L. Johnson highlighted 2024–2025 housing actions including public housing transitions at Dogwood Terrace, a $63 million Villages at Meadowbrook first phase, authorization for $50 million in tax-exempt bonds to renovate Bon Air and Richmond Summit, and a $20 million Lennox mixed-use rental project.
Mayor Garner L. Johnson used the State of the City address to summarize housing and neighborhood development moves through 2024 and plans for 2025, citing public-housing transitions, bond authorizations, and private development projects intended to add hundreds of units.
The mayor said residents of Dogwood Terrace (formerly Southside Terrace) began transitioning to other public housing units or receiving Section 8 vouchers; remaining residents are scheduled to move out by March and demolition of Dogwood Terrace is expected to begin this summer. She noted a new phase of Walton Green opened in May, creating additional public and market-rate housing.
The address recapped an Augusta Commission action from July 2024 authorizing the Augusta Housing Authority to issue $50,000,000 in tax-exempt revenue bonds to renovate Bon Air and Richmond Summit apartment units. The mayor also announced The Villages at Meadowbrook, a first phase valued at $63,000,000 that will consist of 236 family units; the housing authority anticipated closing and planned to start construction in early Q1. Separately, she said the Lennox — a mixed-use development with 64 rental units and a total development cost of $20,000,000 — broke ground and construction was expected to be completed early in the quarter.
The mayor described partnership activity with community groups and foundations. She said housing and community development provided 14 homebuyers with down-payment assistance in 2024 and that the city began a master plan work with the TD Jakes Foundation for a mixed-use downtown project the mayor described as a $60,000,000 development featuring a grocer, rental units and retail space that “will serve over 30,000 Augusta residents.”
Why this matters: the mix of public and private investments, plus bond financing for renovation of existing apartments, shapes near-term housing availability and longer-term neighborhood redevelopment.
Actions and status items mentioned in the address include the July commission resolution authorizing the Augusta Housing Authority bond issuance, the Walton Green phase opening in May, and the expected demolition schedule for Dogwood Terrace. The mayor said the Housing Authority expects to close on The Villages at Meadowbrook financing and begin construction in early Q1.
The mayor acknowledged Augusta has lagged neighboring jurisdictions in single-family home growth and said 2025 will include efforts to remove regulatory barriers, partner with private developers and increase single-family construction.
Ending: Johnson said the administration will focus on removing barriers to growth and work with private developers and investors to increase single-family and commercial development in Richmond County.
