3 developments planned around Aiken's Powderhouse Connector | Aiken Area Government | postandcourier.com

Aiken Standard reporter

Matthew Christian is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. Hecovers the Savannah River Site, city of Aiken, politics and public safety and courts.

Matthew previously covered government and politics for theMorning News in Florence. He is a graduate of the University ofSouth Carolina School of Law and the University of Charleston inWest Virginia.

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Ground has yet to broken on a road planned to connect Aiken's Whiskey Road to Powderhouse Road but plenty of development around it is already planned and approved.

The Aiken City Council voted unanimously Oct. 14 to approve the second and final reading of an ordinance annexing and zoning 36.88 acres of land owned by Clifton Place Partners LLC.

The annexed land is on the west side of Powderhouse Road across from the intersection of Powderhouse Road and Longford Street.

CSRA Development is building a 171-unit single-family attached townhome community there.

Aiken City Council voted to provide water and sewer service to the development in 2022. Part of the approval was a condition that the development be annexed when it became contiguous to city limits.

The property became contiguous when the Aiken City Council voted to approve the annexation and zoning more than 125 acres of property in February.

CSRA Development plans to build a mixed-use development known as The Summerall on this property.

The Summerall property borders the road that's to be built.

The road is informally called the Powderhouse Connector.

It's planned to connect to Whiskey Road across from East Gate Drive and with Powderhouse Road near its intersection with Old Powderhouse Road.

The plan is to create a limited access road — similar to Hitchcock Parkway — and to reduce traffic on the overcrowded Whiskey Road by more than 20%.

Construction is to be split into two phases: a road connecting Whiskey Road and South Centennial Avenue (the South Centennial Avenue Connector) and then connecting that road to Powderhouse Road.

The total cost is estimated to be $38.37 million. Funding sources include $20.84 million from the South Carolina Transportation Infrastructure Bank, $8.97 million from the county-wide Capital Project Sales Tax, $8 million from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and $621,000 from the County Transportation Committee.

The Summerall and Clifton Place aren't the only developments approved around the connector.

The Aiken City Council approved the annexation and zoning of a property where a developer plans to build a Hampton Inn/Home2Suites hotel between The Summerall and Whiskey Road.

Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh has said the study indicating the connector will reduce Whiskey Road traffic accounts for development along the connector.

The city also took a step to upgrade the water infrastructure in the area Oct. 14.

The city council voted unanimously to approve the first reading of an ordinance amending the city's budget to use $1.49 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds to upgrade a waterline planned to run alongside the South Centennial Connector.

Aiken Standard reporter

Matthew Christian is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. Hecovers the Savannah River Site, city of Aiken, politics and public safety and courts.

Matthew previously covered government and politics for theMorning News in Florence. He is a graduate of the University ofSouth Carolina School of Law and the University of Charleston inWest Virginia.

To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription.See our current offers »

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