Riverside Village properties to be auctioned in early July

Samantha Winn, Aiken Standard, S.C.
·3 min read

Jun. 25—Seven tracts of prime real estate in North Augusta's Riverside Village will be sold to the highest bidder next month.

The properties will be sold at public auction at the Aiken County Courthouse on Tuesday, July 6, after the parcels were foreclosed upon after a recent ruling in a South Carolina court.

Foreclosure on the properties was ordered after a judge ruled in favor of lender First Community Bank in its lawsuit against Riverside Village developer Greenstone Hammond's Ferry LLC, et al.

An order for judgement in the case of First Community Bank v. Greenstone Hammond's Ferry LLC, et al., was filed June 15 in the Court of Common Pleas in the Second Judicial Circuit of South Carolina.

Listed as plaintiff is First Community Bank. Listed as defendants are: Greenstone Hammonds Ferry LLC, Riverside Village B Owner, LLC; Riverside Village C Owner, LLC; Riverside Village D Owner, LLC; Riverside Village G Owner, LLC; Riverside Village H Owner, LLC; Riverside Village I Owner, LLC; Riverside Village K Owner, LLC; Christian Schoen; and Brasfield & Gorrie, LLC.

"On April 1, 2016, Greenstone Hammond's Ferry, LLC (Borrower) made, executed and delivered to Plaintiff a Promissory Note, in writing, pursuant to which the Borrower promised to pay to the Plaintiff the sum of Two Million Three Hundred Thousand and 00/100 Dollars ($2,3000,000.00) (the First Note), pursuant to the terms of repayment as stated in the First Note," according to the order.

Riverside Village was envisioned to be a luxury lifestyle along the Savannah River with plans to implement a live, work and play ball mentality. Not all of that has happened. Since SRP Park opened in 2018 and the Crowne Plaza Hotel opened shortly after in 2019, little development has occurred.

Since the Riverside Village development started to take shape, Greenstone issued several promissory notes in the years 2017, 2019 and 2020.

″... If the total debt is not paid, the property should be ordered sold at public auction after due advertisement and the proceeds of that sale should be used to pay the total debt as provided in this order," according to the order.

All but one tract is undeveloped. Tract B is currently a parking garage situated across from SRP Park. The area is 1.52 acres and is parcel 007-14-19-001. Tract C is parcel 007-14-19-005 and is 1.20 acres and located next to Tract B. Tract D is 007-14-19-007 is .83 acres and located next to the roundabout on Railroad Avenue.

Tract G is 007-17-02-008 and is .83 acres. The area is next to the new Sharon Jones Amphitheater. Tract H is comprised of six smaller parcels with five sitting at .10 acres each with a northern section at .21 acres near the Sharon Jones Amphitheater. The parcel numbers are 007-17-02-009; 007-17-02-010; 007-17-02-011; 007-17-02-012; 007-17-02-013 and 007-17-02-006.

Tract I is 007-17-02-004 and is .69 acres located off Esplanade Avenue. Tract K is parcel 007-13-42-003 and is 2.12 acres located next to a parking garage on the opposite side of Railroad Avenue.

Former North Augusta Mayor Bob Pettit said all Municipal Improvement District fees were paid in full on the parcels in Riverside Village on April 30, 2021 for 2019 and 2020. The assessments for tax year 2019 totaled $1,183,327, and the assessment for 2020 totaled $777,779. Pettit said this got the area "back on track."

"The City is aware of the ongoing civil litigation involving Riverside Village, and we remain hopeful a settlement can be reached between the parties prior to the published auction date of July 6," North Augusta Mayor Briton Williams said. "All taxes involving Riverside Village were paid earlier this year to the City."

Samantha Winn covers the city of North Augusta, with a focus on government and community oriented business. Follow her on Twitter: @samanthamwinn and on Facebook and Instagram: @swinnnews.