Prime real estate halfway between Augusta’s Medical District and the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center (GCITC) is up for sale to build on a legacy and shape the future.
The commercial office of Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate Company has listed the three properties for the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope. There are two properties that face the 13-hundred block of Greene Street. The third faces Saint Sebastian Way.
Major Jonathan Raymer, Area Commander for The Salvation Army, told ABD they decided to post the tracts in advance of construction of a new Center of Hope.
“We’ve identified much of the funding that we need in order to build the new Center of Hope, and so we wanted to go ahead and put it on the market,” he said. “We’re anticipating the liquidation of this property as another income source to help with not only the capital part of building the new Center of Hope, but also the endowment part of keeping the Center of Hope running for many, many years to come.”
The current Center of Hope is nearly 50 years old. The sale includes the 25,000-square-foot building that sits on 1.73 acres at 1384 Greene Street. The second parcel at 1374 Greene Street is 0.64 acres, with the 440 Saint Sebastian Way site providing an additional 0.55 acres.
ABD first told you in May 2025 about the plan to build a new Center of Hope on land near the Augusta fairgrounds. The 3.32-acre site, combining 301 and 303 Hale Street, is the former home of the Murray Biscuit company.
Raymer said the choice of the new site was intentional. It is in proximity to several of the Salvation Army’s partner organizations.
“There are several other nonprofits that work with those who are experiencing homelessness in that corridor, and so it makes it easier for the clients we serve,” he explained. “It also makes sense because the sheriff’s office is a block away. In order to stay in our shelters, you have to have a shelter clearance card, and so that helps with that piece of it as well.”
Despite undergoing numerous renovations since it went into service, the bottom line, said Raymer, is it was not designed to support how it is currently being used.
“We’re to the point now, especially with the faces of homelessness shifting so much to more women and children than I’ve had in my whole career,” he said. “Being able to address that need in a more systematic way is good. And part of that is the structure of the building helps with that.”
The design of the new center will include separate sections; one will be a shelter for women and children, the other will be a men’s shelter. Compartmentalization will eliminate interaction between the two groups within the building.
“We know the vast majority of men experiencing homelessness aren’t violent, don’t struggle with those kinds of things, but we also know that if you’re a mom with your children and if that is a thought in your head, that becomes a barrier for you for coming and seeking out the help,” Raymer said. “If we’re able to lower that barrier, then that makes you more likely to come and seek the help you need for you and your children to get into stable housing.”
The properties are bracketed by Sutherland Mill, which is a professional office development, and Enterprise Mill, a mixed-use development with office space, loft apartments, and food and beverage businesses.
The Blanchard and Calhoun listing says the Greene Street tracts are zoned Light-Industrial while Saint Sebastian Way is zoned B-2, which is General Business. It says that makes the sites viable for multiple uses, including health organizations and medical office space.
Raymer said the current Center of Hope has helped more than 500 people transition from homelessness to finding employment and a home of their own. He added the sale process will be structured in a way that allows the existing center to continue providing shelter until the new center is built.
‘Even if we get a seller, it would be with the idea that we wouldn’t move out until the new place is built,’ he said. “We are on our way with architects and those kinds of things of getting it going so that it can be built. So, there won’t be a gap between service.”
The new center will cost approximately $15.7 million. The fundraising campaign is within less than half a million dollars of that goal. More information and a link to contribute are at www.restoringhopeaugusta.org/
The properties are being offered at $1,645,000. For more information, call Blanchard and Calhoun Real Estate Company at (706) 722-7331.
