Construction on a project that will help young adults prepare for their future and contribute to the economy is underway on Merry Street in Augusta.
Demolition has started on a building at a former Augusta park, clearing the way for a tiny homes community. It is for young people who are aging out of the foster care system with little or no ability to transition into society.
Spearheading the project is Bridge Builders Communities, Inc. (BBC). Penny Wasden with First Citizens Bank is on BBC’s Board of Directors. She told ABD the project will be a bridge to help with the transition.
“If we want to give them an opportunity to impact our community in a positive economic way, we can lift their wage-earning capacity, lift their educational capacity, and all of a sudden we have a contributor, not someone that’s looking for resources,” she explained. “We know that statistically, they matriculate to some dead-end situation, if left to their own devices, because they have a lack of life skills, they have a lack of support.”
The community will start with 10 tiny homes, grouped together in five pod clusters. Each tiny home will be fully furnished with furniture, kitchen appliances, and supplies for the kitchen and bathroom. The project will include support staff and a home for an on-site manager. The goal is for the community to ultimately expand to 25 tiny homes.
This will also mark the first project built under the City of Augusta’s tiny homes ordinance. The ordinance passed in Sept. 2022, opened the door for communities in areas zoned for R-1E, R-3B, and R-3C.
The two-acre tract where the homes will be built came from the Augusta Land Bank Authority.
“This needed no city subsidies. This needs no tax breaks. This needs no grant assistance. This is an organization that’s doing its own project,” said Shawn Edwards, director of the Land Bank. “It’s also residential, and it’s still single homes, because if you come into this community, start building high-rise multifamily apartments, they’re going to be market rate first off, and they’re going to drive up prices in a community that needs investment but doesn’t need to be taxed out.”
While this development is specifically for young people leaving the foster care system, it is also seen as a boost to the neighborhood around the park.
“Several things that we’re doing that are unique and don’t talk about enough is all of the training that we’re offering our young adults, fiscal responsibility, life skills, training, how to cook, how to garden, how to shop, we’re teaching to everyone in the community,” said Dr. Jackson Drumgoole, Founder and Executive Director of BBC. “So, we’re raising up the entire community, not just our 25 kids. Everybody in the entire community.”
Drumgoole said they are working with the school system and Augusta Technical College to get residents trained in at-demand careers. They also partnered with businesses, including Piedmont Augusta, Wellstar MCG, and Chick-fil-A to have jobs ready.
He added the success of this first project can have long-range implications, beyond the needs of foster children.
“This is really a proof of principle of what we can do in the city if we work together. We were able to compile churches, businesses, civic organizations, social organizations, the politicians and rally around one particular focus group. But once we show that this works, then we can switch the focus group. It could be veterans. It can be elderly. Yes, it can be the impoverished.”
The project will cost $3 million, with more than one-third of the funds already available. The capital campaign to raise funds to build and support the community is continuing.
More information is available at www.bridgebuildercommunities.org/
