The city of Augusta, Ga., conducted a public hearing on Wednesday, June 4th, to deliberate on the proposed demolition of the largely abandoned Dogwood Terrace Apartments.

The Augusta-Richmond County Commission stated that several sections of the public housing complex are deserted. Specifically, these include roughly 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, all of which are eligible for demolition.

In the notice issued for the public hearing, the commission highlighted that a large segment of Dogwood Terrace has not been in public use to a significant extent, negating any substantial public service purpose. Consequently, the commission believes that removing it from the county road system aligns with the public’s best interests.

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 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While the Augusta Housing Authority says that the housing available at Dogwood Terrace had become outdated and were too small for the families living there, residents at Dogwood Terrace said that it was violent crime in the area, which included the drive-by shooting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 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