City of Aiken’s Northerly Expansion Continues

by Don Moniak
May 8, 2023

Monday evening’s (May 8, 2023) Aiken City Council meeting will feature a closed-door Executive Session for “A discussion regarding the provision of City utility services to encourage the location of a new business to be located near the intersection of Highway 19 and I- 20 providing city services for a major new business near Exit 18.” The new business or its location is not identified.

During the same meeting, Council will address two sewer line easements that together form a nearly 3.0 mile extension of the city’s sewer system. The easements begin in the Gregory Road and Interstate 20 area, and end a quarter mile north at Exit 18 on Hwy 19 North, also known as Edgefield Highway.

Exit 18

Exit 18 is four miles north of Aiken City limits (Figure 1A), but within the boundaries of the city’s water district, which was expanded in December 2020. It is six miles south of the Edgefield County line.

On the south side of I-20 is a small commercial district with two low-cost motels, two gas stations/convenience stores, and a Waffle House. (Figure 1B), all surrounded by forested properties. On the north side is a more open, rural, commercially undeveloped landscape with a few auto repair shops and a locally owned convenience store. The country is dominated by parcels ranging from three acres to several hundred acres, but with no subdivisions.

If a new major business like a Love’s, Buc-ee’s, or another Pilot Flying J, truck stop and convenience store is located on the north side of the exit, there is likely to be some controversy. If the major business is a truck stop or a renovated motel in the commercial zone, the development will probably be welcome by most area residents.

Water and Sewer System Expansion

The unidentified development at Exit 18 means the city is now seeking to expand its water and sewer system on both sides of Interstate 20 from Exit 18 (Edgefield Highway) to Exit 29 (Wire Road). In addition to this latest development there is :

• The stated intention to expand the water system to Exit 29, which would require approval by County Council.  The potential expansion was noted as a side benefit during a March 13th Public Hearing for extending a new million dollar, 9,000-foot water line to a Beazley Homes subdivision along Wire Road along the eastern boundary of Summer Lakes. The City of Aiken agreed to cover 2/3rds of that cost—resulting in a possible $600,000+ subsidy to Beazley Homes.(1)
  
• The recent extension of the water system north of Exit 22 on Columbia Highway (US Highway 1), and approval to provide service to a new 7-11 convenience store and gas station. 
  
• A new “Northside” gravity sewer pump station for which the city has set aside $3.5 million of plutonium settlement funds.  SCDHEC describes the project as beginnning “at the Verenes Industrial Park Pump Station near I-20, Exit 22, and running along Gregory Road, Norfolk Southern abandoned railroad property, Dominion Energy’s 120 foot utility easement, City of Aiken’s land northwest of Gregory Road and along Shaws Creek.”  The lift station described as on the “Northside” is nearly five miles north of Aiken city limits and appears to be along the new sewer line extension.
  
  In addition, the city intends to market the proposed Aiken Greenway bicycle and walking trail as a major amenity and tourist attraction. The 4.7 mile, $6.8 million trail is proposed to be entirely outside of city limits, running from Generations Park to the city’s 2254-acre Brunswick Tract north of Shiloh Baptist Church Road. The tract was purchased for $5.2 million in 2020 in order to protect a city surface water supply and watershed.

Connecting the Sewer System to Highway 19

On Monday night, City Council’s agenda includes two sewer line easement agreements for sewer system across from Verenes Business Park on Windham Boulevard to 0.25 miles north of Exit 18 on Edgefield Highway. (Figure 2, click to enlarge).

The extension and first easement begins on a 130-acre property, much of it in the Shaw Creek floodplain, owned by Tummekki LLC (Agent Lynnwood McMichael); and will extend ~0.45 miles north to a lift station that meets DHEC’s desciption for the Northside lift station.

From the lift station a short spur line will connect to Shiloh Baptist Church Road, less than a half mile from the ~320-acre portion of the city-owned Brunswick Tract targeted for sale to a developer to help defray the cost of the property purchase. (1) Access by developers to a portion of the 2,254-acre Brunswick tract to the north, land set aside to protect a source of the city’s water supply, would certainly add to developer unit sales values—like buying land bordering a National Forest.

The main line will continue from the lift station south, and then southwest across a 449-acre parcel owned by GANB LLC (Agent George Gratzick of St. Johns Island, SC). The endpoint is the northern boundary of a another GANB, LLC property—a 16-acre tract fronting HWY 19. The total length of the new main sewer line is approximately 2.9 miles.

The 16-acre GANB, LLC parcel where the sewer line will end currently features a Great Southern Homes sign, and work is ongoing constructing a city water system extension into a probable large subdivision on GANB LLC’s 445-acre tract.

The Major New Business

Since the sewer line extends to a frontage location on HWY 19, the new major new business is more likely to be located on GANB LLC’s 16-acre parcel. (3)

For perspective on the possible businesses that qualify as major businesses, a June 22, 2022 Aiken Standard article identified a new Circle K and a reopened Waffle House as one of several “hot spots” along Hwy 1. State Representative Bill Taylor (R-Aiken) was quoted as saying:

“The new Circle K is a sparkling gem for the business cluster around Exit 22.”

A second possible location for a new major business opportunity exists on the south side of Exit 18, where in the past two years the area’s two low cost motels were sold to new owners.

The Deluxe Inn was sold to S & S Hospitality (Agent Ram Singh) for $700,000. The 13,000 square foot motel is on 2.5 acres of property fronting HWY 19. (Figure 3)

The Guest Inn (4) was sold for $750,000 to Y&S Hospitality LLC (Agent Narender Singh) on April 4, 2022. The motel is reported in county records as being on 4.3 acres and having three buildings with a total of nearly 60,000 square feet. An adjacent 9.8 acre partially forested parcel with a detention pond was also part of the transaction. Narenda Singh also is the agent for SRI Genesha LLC, one of the owners of the Shell Station adjacent to the Guest Inn and across from Circle K at 1924 Edgefield Hwy.

To say the Guest Inn, formerly a Holiday Inn, has seen better days is an understatement. But work appears to have begun to renovate and upgrade the motel to modern standards, as rooms on three sides are vacant with most furniture removed, and workers are onsite (Figure 4)

Future Annexations?

Annexation is the primary growth model for Aiken, consisting of the elimination of inholdings called “donut holes” within the city’s boundary, and expansion into the unincorporated county. All agreements for city services by new developments in the county have an annexation clause that is triggered when the property becomes adjacent to land within the city.

It appears that expansion, as being planned, may tend to create new “donut holes,” which may further exacerbate emergency response and other jurisdictional issues.

Recent expansion plans conducted by The City of Aiken seem to have fallen short in the “planning” department. One such example is the annexation of the new Generations Park on Hwy 1 that is just under a mile north of city limits.

The first effort to annex along a SC Department of Transportation was overturned by DOT. A second successful annexation effort linked the park to the city via a 1.5 mile long, 10 foot easement. Though the park is adjacent to a sewer line on the northwest and a water line on the southeast, the city somehow decided to equip it with septic and a well. There is still no safe foot/bicycle access to the park from the city.

Unlike in the North Augusta area, where hundreds of residents from the Meriweather Community in Edgefield County met in 2016 to object to City of North Augusta annexation attempts within Edgefield County, there is no similar cohesive, well-defined, and united community north of the City of Aiken on either side of I-20.

To date, the City of Aiken has yet to hold any community meetings or a public hearing to gauge public sentiment about its expansion plans, or even inform county residents of its plans and aspirations.

On March 27, 2023, Aiken City Council heard a presentation on the Greenway project at its March 27, 2023 work session. During the subsequent regular Council meeting, the question was posed as to who will respond to emergencies along the Greenway (Figure 5). Mayor Rick Osbon replied, “it would be whatever fire district the area is in if there is a fire,” but did not address other emergencies. (5)

Update: Introducing Project Unicorn.

Footnotes

(1) The February 27, 2023 supporting memorandum for the new water line stated, in part:

“The initial phase of 9,100 linear feet of 12-inch water line extends water service to the proposed residential development. The next phase extension of 8,625 linear feet water line provides an extension to existing facilities that the city has on Beaver Dam Road. Additional phases could extend water service to interstate 20 Exit 29. The availability of larger tracts and providing services to this exit could further expand the city’s water district and provide opportunities for further growth to the north of Aiken.”

(2) According the meeting minutes of the January 27, 2023 New Horizons City Council Work Session, City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh reportedly stated:

“(Mr. Conger) will also talk about the 300+/- acres near the Shiloh Church Road which we envisioned would ultimately be developed in a way that would be in concert with what we want it to be in terms of protection of our water resources. The city would not do the development, but would sell the property for development. This was something that we pursued with the consultant because when we purchased the property there was some mindset that we wanted to have that option in the event that there were concerns from Council or the public that we needed to try to recoup some of the money that was spent to purchase the property. That was the primary purpose of looking at a Special Purpose District.”

Shortly after, the minutes reported on a statement by Brunswick Tract consultant Allen Conger:

“He said it was felt this area of about 326 acres could be developed. He said this is an opportunity for the City to look at. He noted some potential uses are: conservation residential community, greenway anchor community, equestrian community, retirement community, multiuse residential, office and light commercial, and a solar farm. He said it is felt that whatever uses are accommodated, there could be tie back into the greenway that is proposed for north Aiken.”

(3) Two local sources have identified a possible Buc-ee’s convenient store and truck stop. The Buc-ee’s website boasts a world-record 66,000 square foot convenient store and the world’s longest car wash at 255 feet can be as large as 60,000 square feet which often feature large car washes.

Since the City of Aiken is not talking about its plans in the pastoral landscape north of Exit 18, people can only guess.

(4) The Guest Inn was formerly a Holiday Inn.

(5) The North Augusta Greenway is regularly patrolled by North Augusta Public Safety, which also responds to any accidents, emergencies, or reported crimes. The City of Aiken has yet to commit to a means of patrolling the Greenway it plans entirely outside of city limits, and extending north of I-20 through some areas that will be difficult to access.

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