Augusta commissioners approve construction for city’s first tiny home village

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Augusta commissioners voted 8-0 Tuesday afternoon, approving construction for the Garden City’s first tiny home village.

Bridge Builder Communities is a non-profit organization that works to provide homes for young adults 18-25 years old, who are aging out of the foster care system.

Founder Jackson Drumgoole has consistently pushed this effort.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Drumgoole. “Our Mayor has been very supportive, commissioners have been supportive up to this point, so we’re excited to move forward today with the build.”

Drumgoole says the push for a tiny home village has been 40 years in the making, after watching family members go through the foster care system as a kid.

“I saw how they came out of the system, honestly with mental abuse, emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse in some cases, it truly was heartbreaking,” Drumgoole said. “I wanted to make sure that we could change that, and we truly can give our youth a softer place to land at this point.”

According to Drumgoole, the $2.5 million project will be located on Merry Street, and will come with several features.

There will be 25 tiny homes in 5 pod clusters, with each home coming fully furnished–including a bed, sofa, stove, refrigerator, bathroom, and a closet space.

Each home will be 320-square-feet, house 1 young adult, and there will be adult supervision at all times.

Drumgoole says the village will also have a community center, which will have administration space, along with a kitchen, pantry, and space for counseling.

City leaders we spoke to say it’s the right move forward.

“We need to make sure that we’re doing something that’s good for Augusta. Augusta is a place that’s moving forward. We’ve got some good innovative stuff that’s going on here, and I’m hoping that this is one of them,” said District 5 Commissioner Bobby Williams.

“To my knowledge, I don’t know of any other foster care or tiny home properties in Augusta that does the foster care, but it’s worth a try,” said District 3 Commissioner Catherine Smith-McKnight.

While the commission voted 8-0, District 2 Commissioner Stacey Pulliam was unable to attend Tuesday’s meeting, and District 4 Commissioner Alvin Mason did not vote on the proposal.

Mason says he is in support of the program, but can see the issues that some neighbors are having.

“The problem is that the demographics or target audience which we’re talking about are coming into a neighborhood. You have a lot of folks saying, ‘Not in my backyard,’” said Mason. “But the question is are we our brothers and sisters’ keeper–and I’d say yes we are. But we have to do it in an appropriate way.”

One Augusta native who has shown concern is Michael Thurman, who told commissioners that his problem isn’t the cause the effort is supporting, but the place the tiny home village is going.

“The idea of helping children aging out is a wonderful idea, but I think it’s just a bad place,” said Thurman. “Giving them the park land, which is the only park for quite a ways around there, is going to take away from the neighborhood.”

But among others, District 1 Commissioner Jordan Johnson disagrees saying the space on Merry Street has not been used for a few years, and this development would address a major issue he sees in Richmond County.

“When you’re dealing with the population that Mr. Drumgoole is working with, that’s such a vulnerable population. If they don’t have a place to call home, the streets will become their home, and when the streets become their home, it’s only a matter of time before the grave becomes their home,” said Johnson.

With construction now approved, Drumgoole says the tiny home village will break ground this summer.

His goal is for the development to finish by the end of 2025.

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