The Aiken Design Review Board is expected to consider the concept plan and design for a 36,000-square-foot mixed use building planned for downtown Thursday evening.
The Design Review Board will meet at 7 p.m. in the city council chamber of the Municipal Building to consider the plan and design, according to an agenda published early Monday afternoon.
The board will hold a work session 30 minutes before the meeting.
The plan calls for the construction of a 36,000-square-foot, three-story mixed-use building, a 39-space parking lot and a green space on a vacant lot along Newberry Street between Buzz Rich's law office and a town home community.
The vacant lot is divided into three parcels with addresses of 133 and 141 Newberry St. N.W. The third parcel does not have an address.
The city of Aiken owns the properties. The city paid $752,230.23 to the Aiken Corporation to purchase the properties earlier this year.
The Aiken Corporation paid $650,000 to purchase the properties July 18, 2022, according to Aiken County property tax records.
The city plans to fund construction of the building using $20 million from the state's settlement with the Department of Energy over plutonium stored at the Savannah River Site, City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said March 11.
When the building is completed, the city will transfer it back to the Aiken Corporation so that property taxes can be paid.
Cam Scott, an architect at Cheatham Fletcher Scott, applied for concept plan and design approval.
The design calls for the top two floors to be leased to the Savannah River National Laboratory and the bottom floor to be a conference space. The design also shows space for USC Aiken on the bottom floor.
The exterior of the building would be brick, which is similar to St. Johns United Methodist Church across Newberry Street and the Meybohm building on the other side of the block.
Parking
Between 75-100 national lab employees are expected to work in the building, which has led some residents to be concerned about parking.
The design calls for 39 spaces to be constructed on the property.
There are also 33 parking spaces along the southbound side of Newberry Street. Across the parkway, there are 10-15 parking spots available on northbound Newberry. And there is also the possibility of adding two more spaces along Newberry Street.
Eleven additional parking spaces can be made available across two city-owned lots downtown.
Additional parking is also available on northbound Newberry Street between Richland and Park avenues (10-15 spaces).
Other possibilities for parking include Chesterfield Street between Richland and Park avenues (14 spaces on the west side of the southbound lane) and the former Department of Public Safety headquarters (82 spaces).
It is a six-minute walk from the former Department of Public Safety headquarters to the farthest part of the building site, according to Google Maps.
An Aiken Standard reporter walked each of the two recommended routes Monday afternoon.
It took six minutes and 45 seconds to walk Laurens to Barnwell to Newberry. There were several parking spots available along Laurens between the post office and Barnwell Avenue.
It took around eight minutes to walk Newberry to Edgefield to Laurens. This route could have been shorter if there were sidewalks on the eastbound side of Edgefield Avenue between Laurens and Newberry.
One group particularly concerned about the parking are the residents of the town homes who could see light pollution from the headlights of the cars entering and exiting the parking lot.
The design includes plans for a 4- or 5-foot tall masonry wall to block the headlights from the town homes while still providing a view to the residents.
Trees
There are 29 trees are on the property, including 11 pecan trees, eight Southern hackberry trees, four Chinese elms, two Carolina cherry laurels, one tree of heaven, one crape myrtle, one water oak and one American sycamore.
Bartlett Tree Experts, a consultant hired by the Aiken Corporation to assess the trees, recommends removing seven trees including three Southern hackberry trees, one pecan tree, one Carolina cherry laurel, the tree of heaven and the American sycamore.
Two of the three Southern hackberry trees, the pecan tree, the Carolina cherry laurel and the American sycamore are described as being in poor condition in the survey.
One of the Southern hackberry trees and the tree of heaven are described as being in fair condition. However, the hackberry has a cavity in its stem and an uneven crown and the tree of heaven has poor branch structure according to the survey.
Bartlett recommends a "level three advanced assessment" for the remaining pecan trees and general pruning of the other trees.
