In recent City Talk columns, I’ve considered some of the impacts of One West Victory, which is nearing completion, and of the city’s new cultural arts center, which is planned for the southwest corner of Oglethorpe Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard.
The impacts of both projects should be overwhelmingly positive.
And both are part of a broader trend that we consider from time to time here at City Talk: the ways in which major developments are changing the shape and character of the greater downtown area.
If you drive, walk or ride around downtown, you have surely seen the amount of construction and restoration activity. And if you have been reading the agendas for various public meetings and hearings, you are aware of many other developments in the pipeline.
As most of you know, major hotel complexes are planned for both ends of River Street, and it seems certain we’ll see more hotels along the fringes of the Landmark Historic District.
If you can negotiate the maze of torn up streets, you can see that work is continuing on the old Kehoe Iron Works complex at the end of East Broughton Street. The old machine shop along Randolph Street is in the midst of particularly intensive adaptive restoration as the planned mixed-use facility takes shape.
On the west side of downtown, there are plans for a large rental housing complex on Selma Street in Frogtown.
That project would fill the empty gap between the Frogtown Lofts and Savannah Station, and it would represent yet another major investment in the neighborhoods west of MLK. As the crow flies, the site is less than half a mile from the chosen site for Savannah’s new arena.
A variety of private sector residential projects also are filling holes in the torn fabric of Savannah’s oldest neighborhoods.
For example, we’re finally seeing new residential construction on the east side of Crawford Square and on a large vacant lot on Abercorn Street, near Bolton Street.
A few blocks away on Habersham Street, we’re likely to see townhouses eventually replace a relatively unattractive commercial property that has no historical value. A derelict commercial building at the corner of Lincoln and Henry streets is undergoing extensive renovation.
These are just examples. Many similar projects in the downtown area are in some stage of development.
The benefits of infill projects such as these are pretty obvious. The increased residential density will help support neighborhood businesses, and we’ll see a boost in property tax revenue without the need for expansion of public infrastructure.
It’s worth noting that Savannah’s historic neighborhoods can handle increased population. Even if every vacant lot in the downtown area were redeveloped and occupied, we still wouldn’t come close to the density and total population of the first half of the 20th century.
While the current activity in the downtown area is impressive, one gets the sense that the pace of development could accelerate even more. As I noted in a column earlier this year, the Montgomery Street corridor extending south out of the Historic District is one of the most obvious areas for new development. If a few ambitious entrepreneurs move in, we could see some fast changes.
Of course, “fast” might mean something different in Savannah than in many other cities.
Public policy might play a significant role in encouraging continued private investment.
The Metropolitan Planning Commission’s recently announced study of Victory Drive should result in concrete proposals for maintaining the commercial and residential integrity of the corridor.
The eventual demolition of the I-16 flyover and of the arena at the Civic Center will open up huge swathes of valuable land for private development.
While we are seeing all of these new investments, we are still waiting to see what will happen to a number of sites slated for major development before the recession. Many millions in both private and public dollars have been spent in places such as Savannah River Landing and Hutchinson Island, but the outcomes remain uncertain.
By the way, Savannah River Landing might be more visible than, say, New Hampstead in West Chatham, but you can find stalled or failed developments throughout the metro area.
We’ll be back soon with more details on some of the projects mentioned here.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, Ga. 31401.