More residential development could be coming to the northside of Aiken.
The Aiken Planning Commission is set to consider a request to rezone three properties near the intersection of Laurens Street and Rutland Drive and a request to approve a concept plan that would allow for the construction of a 330-unit market-rate rental townhome community.
The applicant is VP Riverside LLC.
VP Riverside is a South Carolina corporation. Its registered agent is Aiken attorney and real estate investor Ray Massey.
VP Riverside purchased the property located between the Dollar Tree and the SRP Federal Credit Union branch on Rutland Drive for $2.5 million on Sept. 16.
A portion of the property behind the SRP branch and a property owned by the Aiken Standard and located behind the newspaper building would also likely be sold to VP Riverside.
The terms of those potential transactions are as yet unknown.
Two of the properties are currently zoned office/institutional and industrial. The remaining property is zoned residential single family (RS-10). All three would be rezoned to planned residential.
The development would be called Aiken Village and operated by Stark Enterprises.
Stark Enterprises is a real estate development company headquartered in Cleveland. The company's project portfolio includes retail developments in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Arizona, residential multifamily developments in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Florida, office space in Ohio, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania and mixed-use developments (a combination of all types) in Ohio, New York and Pennsylvania.
The concept plan calls for the construction of 68 buildings including 39 buildings of four connected townhomes and 29 buildings of six connected townhomes. There would be 78 one-bedroom townhomes and 252 two-bedroom townhomes. Each unit would have a two-car garage and driveway space for two more vehicles.
Access to the development would be from access points to be constructed on Laurens Street north of the Sprint gas station and a divided plant entrance on Rutland Drive.
The concept plan for a rental townhome community that would constructed on Aiken's northside calls for the construction of 29 six-unit townhome buildings on the site.
The plans also call for the construction of a clubhouse with a leasing offices, co-working space and an outdoor grilling area. The development would also have a dog park, a multisport court and a children's park.
The rental townhome community comes after plans to construct new housing development near USC Aiken were announced and approved. Last month, the city council approved a change in franchise agreements to allow Dominion Energy to serve the whole development.
The Planning Commission meeting is set to begin at 5 p.m. Tuesday with a worksession and continue with the regular meeting at 6 p.m. The worksession will be held in Room 315 of the municipal building located at 111 Chesterfield St. SW. The regular meeting will be held in the city council chambers of the same building.
Also at the meeting, the commission will review plans for development projects for the old Pizza Hut on Whiskey Road and a new car wash at the corner of Silver Bluff Road and Hitchcock Parkway.
