Update 10/25/18 – Augusta Storage has opened the self-storage component of its mixed-use project in the former Wrightsboro Plaza shopping center. The redevelopment was completed shortly after the center’s last tenant, Dollar General, relocated, according to a source.

The facility includes 458 interior, climate-controlled units as well as motion-sensor LED lights, rooftop solar panels and video cameras. Covered vehicle-storage spaces will be added behind the building at a later date, and a grand opening will be held soon, property manager Bonnie Black told the source.

“The reaction we’ve received so far has been very positive,” said co-owner Steve Mack. “It’s a vast improvement over what was there.”

Augusta Storage has also acquired 4 acres on Tindon Street, just east of the facility, for future expansion, the source reported.

2/6/18 – Atlanta-based Augusta Storage LLC has purchased Wrightsboro Plaza in Augusta, Ga., with plans to convert the vacant shopping mall into a mixed-use site including self-storage, retail and restaurants. The storage facility will operate as Forest Hills Storage, according to the source.

The company purchased the property at 3116-3136 Wrightsboro Road in three parcels for $1.67 million from a limited-liability company affiliated with Augusta University. The 10-acre retail strip is north of University Village, a student-housing complex, the source reported.

The 45,000-square-foot storage facility will be developed first, with retail and restaurant space constructed later, the source reported. The rear parking lot will be fenced and used for vehicle storage. Excess parking space could later be developed as retail outparcels, according to Jim Jarrell, a partner with Augusta Storage.

“We’re hoping it will be a big improvement to the neighborhood,” Jarrell said. “There’s plenty of storage in Augusta, but most of it is in non-climate-controlled facilities. We think offering climate control will be something people want.”

The site also includes a half-acre outparcel at the corner of Hires and Wrightsboro Streets. Augusta Storage is marketing the 3,500-square-foot former restaurant building to potential tenants, Jarrell said.        

Developed in 1979 as a Winn-Dixie grocery store, Wrightsboro Plaza once housed a discount grocery store and a beauty-supply retailer. Its last tenant, Dollar General, is moving to another property later this year.

Sources:

The Augusta Chronicle, Vacant Shopping Center to Become Self-Storage Facility
The Augusta Chronicle, Self-Storage Facility Transforms Wrightsboro Plaza