The proposed East River Street hotel/retail complex on Savannah’s waterfront will be less visually imposing and include more waterfront greenspace than originally presented, according to updated plans.
Project architect Patrick Shay presented designs for the Georgia Power headquarters site Wednesday to the Savannah Historic District Board of Review. The board granted the first of at least three approvals for the development, which will feature two hotels, a parking garage, two retail buildings and two public plazas.
The board approval clears the way for the sale of the property from Georgia Power to the developer, North Point Hospitality. The deal could close as early as next week, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
“These plans show something we feel proud of and meets all the conditions set forth by this board last month,” Shay said.
The updated plans address many of the concerns expressed by the board when the project details were introduced in December. Major changes include reducing the number of retail buildings along the waterfront from four to two, widening the public spaces between the waterfront structures and altering the design of the riverfront hotel.
The updated retail buildings are larger than the four previously proposed but allow for larger public plazas and increase river views for pedestrians. One of the plazas will be more than 90 feet wide while the other will be 40 feet wide. The prior plan called for four narrow plazas between the waterfront buildings.
The waterfront hotel, meanwhile, won’t tower seven stories along the riverwalk’s edge. The new plans call for the hotel tower to be stepped back from the pedestrian walkway, addressing concerns that the hotel “walls off” the east end of River Street and east views of the river.
The tower will stand one story higher, however, measuring approximately 99 feet high. Shay had told the board in the December meeting pulling the tower away from the riverwalk would mean adding another story to make up for the lost square footage.
Board members voiced no objections to the taller hotel tower and expressed relief about the updated plans overall.
“We have a long way to go,” board member Reed Engle said, “but it’s a real good effort.”
Shay, the architect, will bring the project back next month for a review of façade openings and parking standards. The board will also review design details at a later meeting.