NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. (WJBF) — A big change could be coming to apartment development in North Augusta. The North Augusta City Council is considering a pause on new standalone multi-family projects for the next two and a half years.
“We love this area. SRP, southbound, this whole area is great,” North Augusta resident Meg Loken said.
Council wants to tighten up development rules to make sure roads and utilities can keep up and get ahead of growth instead of just reacting to it.
“It definitely has grown a lot over the last few years and the traffic, especially on Martintown Road, is definitely getting busier,” she recalled.
The pause won’t affect duplexes, triplexes, or quadplexes. Projects already in the works—like The Hive and Highland Springs—can continue. Mixed-use apartments are also exempt.
“You have hundreds upon hundreds of apartments that are already in the pipeline. The vast majority of which are highly likely to be built, permitted and occupied. So I don’t, I don’t believe personally that a two and a half year hiatus is gonna have that much of an impact on the inventory for our citizens,” City Administrator Jim Clifford said at a recent meeting.
Council members debated the impact. Some worry it limits housing for seniors and young professionals. Others say thousands of units are already in the works. Developer Jason Whingther says the pause may not change much.
“I don’t believe we have any apartments that are necessarily shovel ready right now,” he said. “It’s still gonna take 18 months to two years to even come and get it done right now. So I don’t think you’re gonna impact it as much as we think.”
“I think it could be good to give this area a chance to just catch up and maybe extend some routes around town,” Loken added.
Council still has to give final approval, likely in the next month. If passed, the pause is expected to last through mid-2027.
