The crux of a growing city is a story about land use. How it's bought, sold, changed and used for a swelling population.
In Savannah, recent developments have skewed toward the newer — and transient — populations moving into town. Plant Riverside is a playground for tourists and locals willing to pay $20 for a cocktail; Starland Yard attracts transplants and young families to its outdoor locale; the Enmarket Arena is slated to draw in people from beyond the Hostess City seeking entertainment and action.
Several more projects are poised to have a citywide impact, but are still a ways off from ribbon cuttings. Here are updates and insights into five major developments to watch in Savannah:
Yamacraw demolition request going to HUD
Plans to demolish the 80-year-old public housing complex in downtown Savannah were announced last year, but the federal authority in charge of the complex still needs to approve the local housing authority's demolition request.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
The Housing Authority of Savannah (HAS) owns and operates the complex, which is a quadrant of city blocks consisting of 315 townhouse units. HAS President Earline Davis said the authority's application to the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development will be sent in mid-March. The application must be approved by HUD before demolition work can begin.
The HAS also conducted a study, which found the site "environmentally clear" for construction work, Davis said.
Relocation of residents would start 90 days after HUD approval. Some residents would qualify for Section 8 vouchers and others would be rehoused directly by the authority.
Section 8 vouchers are monthly federal housing subsidies for low-income people. In Savannah the current waitlist for a Section 8 vouchers is 7,000 people deep, with residents waiting years for a voucher. And lately, voucher holders have had a hard time finding landlords to accept their subsidies, according to local experts, meaning many are still without housing, even with a federally guaranteed housing payment.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
The residents who live in Yamacraw were notified in late 2020 that their homes could be torn down. These residents would be relocated by the housing authority and given first right to move back into a redeveloped complex. But concrete plans have not been presented on what the redevelopment of Yamacraw would look like. Last spring, Davis told the Savannah Morning News affordable housing was HAS' first priority, but did not rule out other uses for the site, including the sale of the property.
Fears over how the land — extremely valuable for its proximity to the Historic District's tourism core — would be used prompted a protest against the Savannah College of Art and Design last year by the activist group 912 Liberation Crew. Organizers said they feared SCAD taking over part of the historic Yamacraw land, which has served as an epicenter of Black community in Savannah for more than a century.
According to a statement from SCAD, the university does not have any interest or intention of purchasing or developing the historic Yamacraw property.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
The plans to redevelop the site come amidst a years-long crunch for affordable housing in Chatham County, where prices are escalating as wages are stagnant. Low inventory of affordable and workforce housing — part of a larger lack of housing across the socioeconomic spectrum — will ensure the housing crisis continues until more units can be built.
Fairgrounds team presents development map
Detailed plans on how the winning developer will transform the former site of the Coastal Empire Fairgrounds near Tatumville were unveiled to members of the Planning Commission in January.
The development team, P3 Joint Ventures Group, will turn the 74-acre property into a mixed-use project with housing, ball fields, walking trails and a movie studio. P3 beat out two other development groups to win the bid to develop the city-owned property after years of community upheaval over the property's future.
Credit: P3 Joint Ventures/MPC
Credit: P3 Joint Ventures/MPC
The plan revealed how each piece of the project would be situated. The 6.2-acre movie studio will feature four sound stages and space for a 10,000 square-foot "creative exchange center" for training and job creation around entertainment careers, gaming and animation. The movie studio will sit on the corner of Meding Street and Kimball Avenue.
Residential properties will border the northern sides of the movie studio. Plans call for 400 units, which will be a mix of single-family homes and multi-family units (townhomes, duplexes or apartments). About half of the housing will be reserved for seniors, who often struggle to find housing on a fixed income.
The neighborhood section of the fairgrounds will also have a Savannah Police substation and a number of retail options, including a food-oriented commercial outfit.
Credit: Robert S Cooper, Robert Cooper/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Robert S Cooper, Robert Cooper/Savannah Morning News
On the back half of the property, the city and developers will partner on a number of public-use projects, including a 20-acre nature preserve which will feature low-impact walking trails. In between the nature preserve and housing, the city will build four sports fields, two basketball courts, a 75,000-sq. foot indoor recreational facility and maintain the existing water feature on the property, Springfield Lake.
The city will also build and operate "Central Park," a 2.4-acre public green space that will anchor the entire development.
Savannah will also be in charge of nearly 12 acres of streets, sidewalks and public right-of-ways in and around the fairgrounds.
Eastern Wharf to break ground on new apartments, hotel
The multi-million development along the Savannah River and East President Street opened its first phase in 2021, with the arrival of Riverworks Apartments and the Thompson Savannah Hotel.
The Savannah River Walk was extended to the end of Eastern Wharf, but is not connected to the Marriott Terrace, where the walk previously ended. The city is slated to begin work soon to connect the two sections, as well as repair some of the damaged walkway on the easternmost end of the path.
Credit: Rendering courtesy of Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart
Credit: Rendering courtesy of Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart
The second phase of Eastern Wharf is slated to break ground soon, which will bring more apartments, another hotel, retail and restaurant options to the high-cost living community just east of the Historic Landmark District.
Henry Spain is a partner with the Mariner Group, one of the site's developers. While the build-out of the entire property will take years, Spain said the second phase should start construction in a few months and wrap up in 2024.
First up, a team is working to fill the vacant commercial spaces in the bottom of Riverworks. Spain said they're looking at a mix of local and regional tenants and are eyeing restaurants, boutiques and neighborhood market-type businesses for the spaces.
Credit: Richard Burkhart for Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart for Savannah Morning News
"You'll see some construction starting about there as well," Spain said. "Bringing more life into the development."
The next apartment building is slated to begin construction, too. The 278-unit complex is dubbed "Pilot and Park" and will serve market-rate tenants or above. The housing complex will sit near the Thompson and Riverworks and is slated to open in 2024.
Another hotel will be built on the property, as well. This one will be smaller than the Thompson at 150 rooms, Spain said.
"Additionally, we're talking with four companies in Savannah about putting their office headquarters at Easter Wharf," Spain added.
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Richard Burkhart/Savannah Morning News
Developers promoted some form of affordable or workforce housing component on the property during the early stages of planning with city officials, but Spain said there are no plans to implement below-market-rate housing options.
Riverworks Apartments are luxury priced, starting at about $1,800 for a studio. The owner-occupied housing project to the east of the Thompson Hotel, Upper East River Homes, sport price tags ranging from $600,000 to $7 million.
The green space in front of the Thompson will begin park programming in the coming months, Spain said, and will be open to the public.
Fate of Civic Center still up in the air
Late last year, Savannah City Council directed City Manager Jay Melder to present recommendations regarding the fate of the Civic Center.
Credit: Savannah Morning News photo
Credit: Savannah Morning News photo
Plans were presented several years ago calling for the outdated event space to be demolished and redeveloped as a mixed-use property aimed at workforce housing needs, but the plan faltered after a new council was voted in and political priorities changed.
The city must decide what they'll do with the center, which includes the Johnny Mercer Theater, the Martin Luther King arena, and grand ballroom, because of the opening of the Enmarket Arena just a few miles to the west.
While the fate of the center has yet to be decided, news should be coming soon on what the city plans to do with the Oglethorpe Avenue building.
Hutchinson Island marina, apartments on the way
Credit: Philip Hall/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Philip Hall/Savannah Morning News
The years-long quest to develop Hutchinson Island seems to be gaining traction.
Last year, construction work began on a marina and 276 apartments on the island, where the Savannah Convention Center is also undergoing an expansion.
The development, called Savannah Harbor, will be built-out in many phases, including a hotel, commercial, retail and more residential units. Developer John Cay said he envisions Hutchinson Island as adding an element to water-based living in Savannah.
"All great cities have both sides of the river. Paris has it's Left Bank, Charleston has Mount Pleasant and Daniel Island," Cay told the Savannah Morning News in August. "So, our mission is to create something extraordinarily special."
Credit: Philip Hall/Savannah Morning News
Credit: Philip Hall/Savannah Morning News
Construction of the marina's bulkhead is complete, Cay said. At build-out, the marina will host 97 boat slips and storage capacity for vessels up to 80 feet.
Cay said the first phase of 276 residential apartments will begin construction soon, with residents slated to move in some time in mid-2023. "The apartments will offer 5G (Wi-Fi) connectivity, a resort-style swimming pool, walking trails and other amenities."
Other residential units — townhomes, single-family residences and senior housing — are planned for Savannah Harbor, but no timeline has been announced.
Zoe covers growth and how it impacts communities in the Savannah area. Find her at znicholson@gannett.com, @zoenicholson_ on Twitter, and @zoenicholsonreporter on Instagram.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Five developments to watch: Updates on Yamacraw demolition, Hutchinson Island marina & more
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