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F or almost 15 years, homeowners in a small southside neighborhood off Abercorn Street and Wilshire Boulevard have been looking for a commercial developer to strike a deal with — one who would not only transform their property into a bustling prefab shopping center but, more importantly, would be willing to pay the right price.
The homeowners banded together more than a decade ago and got the city to rezone their property to commercial and immediately began shopping it around as one parcel.
The 30 or so properties that make up the 10-acre site attracted offers from chains like Publix in 2002, Kohl’s around 2004, Ashley Home Furnishings in 2007 and later Academy Sports & Outdoors.
Of course, a lot has happened between now and then: a recession, traffic and infrastructure obstacles and a handful of holdouts who’ve rejected deal after deal, looking for a little more money.
A 2009 Savannah Morning News article detailed the long saga and fractured deals that divided the neighborhood and made relocating to bigger and better homes a distant dream for some.
At the time, Michael Gross, a resident of Redwood Circle, comprised of 10 single-story brick homes off Wilshire Boulevard, said he didn’t think a deal would ever come through.
“With all the obstacles that have sprung up over the last eight years, I don’t foresee it ever selling,” he said.
Now it seems, the homeowners may have found their guy.
Polestar Development
A representative for Polestar Development LLC, headquartered in Chattanooga, will present plans to the Metropolitan Planning Commission on Tuesday for a proposed supermarket and gas station at the 10-acre site, divided into two main parcels by Wilshire Boulevard.
Phase I calls for the grocery store to be set back on about five acres, bordered by Abercorn Street, White Bluff Road, Wilshire Boulevard and a canal to the north, while the fuel station will be on about two-thirds of an acre at the corner of Abercorn and Wilshire. Two other outparcels are designated for future development.
Polestar has not disclosed the grocery chain, but the firm has ties to Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets — a smaller footprint grocery concept from the world’s largest retailer. Some people with knowledge of the deal say the specs of the plan, a
41,000-square-foot store and gas station, match the retail giant’s other standalone supermarkets.
The store would be in line with Wal-Mart’s plans, announced last year, to launch nearly 500 of these “markets” within the next two years as it seeks to compete more directly with grocery chains and discount dollar and drug stores.
Reached by email, Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amanda Henneberg said they had nothing to announce yet.
“While we are always looking for opportunities to serve our customers, we have no plans to announce regarding a new store in Savannah at the present time,” she said.
The petition is an amendment to a conceptual master plan dated June 2001, after City Council approved the rezoning to P-B-C (Planned-Community-Business).
Charlotte Moore, a city planner at the MPC, said the petitioner is looking to expand the uses that could be developed on the property and change the physical layout of the master plan. The previous master plan only allowed for a few conditional uses such as a department store.
Tony Thomas, a city alderman who represents the district and advocated for the homeowners through the rezoning process, said it seems like the time is finally right.
“When I first got elected in 2000, this is something we approved back then,” he said. “This time, though, I’m sure it’s going to go through.”
The ‘burbs are back
The timing for the deal comes as southside has seen a flurry of new retailer interest — from Hobby Lobby to Kroger Marketplace to Dick’s Sporting Goods. The 31419 ZIP has benefited not only from a slowly improving economy but the opening of the last leg of the Truman Parkway, making access more convenient from downtown.
A lawyer representing the homebuyers, Rob Brannen, said he couldn’t comment and attempts to reach out to some of the homeowners originally interviewed in 2009 were unsuccessful.
Linda Soliman, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Commercial Platinum Partners, said the deal is not finalized and is still in its due diligence phase. She said they were working through some difficult compliance issues with the MPC.
“Currently, we have been and continue to work through these bumps in the road,” she said in an email. “We have very good legal and developmental representatives meeting the challenges the development faces.”
Asked about the general mood of the homeowners, Soliman said they were satisfied with the pending deal but also ready to move on.
“I remain confident the issues we face with the development will be met and we will finally have a community retail center which will meet the needs of not only the southside community but the whole of Savannah as well,” she said.