Planners grant extension to hospitality development

The Augusta Planning Commission on Monday gave a one-year extension to a British sports-hospitality firm planning to develop approximately 100,000 square feet of property off Berckmans Road into a private neighborhood tentatively titled "International Village."

The seven single-family homes would occupy roughly 14,200 square feet of the 2.3 acre tract at the corner of Berckmans and Wicklow Drive, walking distance from the Augusta National Golf Club.

Plans for the homes, which would be accessible through a private road between Wicklow and Margate Drive, were initially approved in June 2017 after the developer's previous proposal to build a condominium complex was rejected in 2014 over neighborhood concerns.

The developer, Manchester-based Byrom PLC, requested its 2017-approved plan be extended because it would be unable to start building the homes before the plan's June 27 expiration date.

The one-year extension was approved by a majority vote under three conditions recommended by city Planning and Development staff: the removal of a small section of sidewalk; construction of a retaining wall that does not encroach on the slope of Berckmans Road; and submission of a revised construction schedule to the city engineering department.

Daniel Rickabaugh, a civil engineer with Augusta-based ZEL Engineers, the firm Byrom hired to complete its erosion-control plan, agreed to all of the conditions, adding that erosion control plans have already been submitted to state and city officials.

Planning Commissioner Sonny Pittman, who voted against the site-plan extension, inquired if there were any similarities between Byrom's 2014 proposal and the current one.

"All other aspects of this plan are remaining as is, except for the conditions that were just read to you," Rickabaugh said. "...The original concept was changed; these are just strictly small residential buildings on seven lots."

No one stepped forward to oppose the project during the meeting's public-comment portion.

Real estate records show Byrom acquired the tracts between the West Terrace and Berckman Hills neighborhoods in 2013 for a combined $3.01 million. Byrom’s website says the firm provides “unparalleled expertise in the management of the world’s greatest sporting events over the last 30 years.” The company owns residential properties in Manchester, London, Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro.

A Byrom spokesman said via email the architectural style of the proposed two-story homes "will be in keeping with the location” of the property, which is surrounded primarily by 1,600- to 1,800-square-foot ranch-style homes built in the 1960s and ’70s.

The proposed structures would be in the 2,000-square-foot range, below the 2,600-square-foot average size for a new single-family home, according to the National Association of Home Builders.

Byrom’s spokesman said the homes would contain amenities found in a typical home, including master bedroom suites, walk-in closets and adjoining rooms that could be used as a nursery or study.

Byrom’s website says it is a leader in “the design and delivery of the best hospitality products on offer at the most sought-after sports programmes in the world.” Among other things, it is the official hospitality provider for the international soccer organization FIFA. Byrom also provides hospitality services for tennis, rugby and auto racing events.