Developer Plans Second Complex
By TONY ADAMS - tadams@ledger-enquirer.com

A Raleigh, N.C., developer is planning his second Columbus apartment complex, this time catering primarily to young professionals rather than college students.

Kenney Properties plans to construct the luxury apartment development, to be called Arlington Ridge, on 28 acres of land on the west side of Veterans Parkway just north of Northside High School, Veterans Memorial Middle School and North Columbus Elementary School.

The project cleared its first hurdle Wednesday at the Columbus Planning Advisory Commission. It received a unanimous recommendation for rezoning from single-family residential use to residential multi-family. The case now goes before Columbus Council at a later date for a final rezoning decision.

"Our target market will be the best and brightest in Columbus," Steve Kenney, president of Kenney Properties, said during the PAC meeting. "We want to be a part of your community for a long time. We love Columbus."

There will be 456 apartments in Arlington Ridge, with 90 percent of the units having 1 and 2 bedrooms, the remainder with 3 bedrooms. The exterior of the complex will be brick, while Kenney said the lawn surrounding it will "look like Augusta at the Masters." Amenities will include the typical assortment of pool, clubhouse, fitness center and a sand-based volleyball court.

Tentative lease ranges are $800 to $1,100 per month, he said.

The complex is to be built on a sliver of rocky, hilly land just north of the high school on American Way and the elementary and middle schools on what is known as Old Guard Road. A staff report from the Columbus Planning Department indicates the development could have 30 to 50 school-age children, with those three schools now nearing or exceeding capacity.

There should not be a negative impact on traffic in the area, the city report said. One resident, however, said she is concerned about congestion that already occurs in the area when school begins and lets out each day.

"I think they should widen (Veterans Parkway) first," Daphney Olah, who lives on Galena Road near the proposed apartments.

Columbus zoning administrator Will Johnson pointed out the Georgia Department of Transportation originally had plans to widen Veterans Parkway to Turnberry Lane just north of the apartment site. But that has changed, with the DOT now wanting to four-lane the roadway to Cataula, Ga., in southern Harris County.

"It is still a front-burning road-widening project," Johnson said of the highway project. "We're still negotiating with them to get it back to Turnberry Lane."

This is the second apartment complex in Columbus for Kenney, a former Clemson University offensive lineman who played eight years in the National Football League.

Earlier this year his company completed the first phase of Cougar Village, a 210-unit complex being constructed on 10 acres off Milgen Road near Cooper Creek Park and a short drive to Columbus State University. The development will house about 400 students when finished.

Kenney, on Wednesday, mentioned growth in Columbus as the reason behind his decision to construct more apartments here. He specifically keyed in on the military buildup at Fort Benning, an infantry training installation that stands to gain a combined 30,000 soldiers, civilian workers and family members by 2011.

He praised the work already done by apartment developers in Columbus, but obviously sees a need for more product on the market.

"I don't know how the surge in housing is going to be met," Kenney said. "We just know the people are coming."