By Eric Curl
March 24, 2024 – The city is planning to partner with a development group to build an underground garage west of Forsyth Park’s south end in conjunction with the construction of a private office complex at the site.
The city would issue bonds through the Savannah Economic Development Authority to fund a 3-level underground garage with 450 spaces, according to the agreement being considered by the Savannah City Council on Thursday. 350 of the spaces would be allocated to the building’s tenants during business hours, while 100 spaces would be reserved for public use. All of the spaces would be publicly available after business hours and on the weekend.
The bonds would be paid off with parking fees paid by the building’s tenants and public users, in addition to increased property tax revenue generated by the office complex.
The agreement establishes a base schedule for 30 years because the city wanted a “floor” for what the tax payments will be to cover the bond payments, according to Evans General Contractors Executive Vice President/COO Jeff Jepson, one of the partners behind the office project.
“That’s our minimum, but if the assessor accesses it at a higher rate than we have to pay whatever the assessed rate is,” Jepson said during an interview Friday with Savannah Agenda.
The garage plan was developed after members of the development group, Forsyth Commons LLC, met with the city regarding the office complex plan. The city said they have a need for more parking in the area and the parking garage was increased from two to three levels to accommodate that need, Jepson said . (The city’s agenda describes the garage as two levels, but Jepson said that is an error and the structure is actually expected to be three).
The development group is not reliant on the city’s bond funding and the decision to proceed with the plan is completely up to the city, Jepson said.
“We can build our own garage and only go down two stories,” he said. “It can be an income producing asset for us.
“They don’t have to do anything and they shouldn’t have to do anything unless they feel there is enough public benefit and that’s completely in their bailiwick to choose.”
The city has previously entered similar partnerships for the construction of parking garages at Plant Riverside and at the Eastern Wharf. (Read Savannah Agenda’s 2022 article on the Plant Riverside deal)
The latest proposed public-private partnership comes after the city council voted down the Historic Preservation Commission’s recommendation last year to designate three buildings currently at the site as “contributing” structures to the Victorian Historic District, which could have blocked their planned demolition, as previously reported. The vote came at the recommendation of City Manager Jay Melder, who said he based his recommendation on opposition by the property owners, the Victorian Neighborhood Association and area business owners. Melder also said that they should also consider the opportunity the parcels have for future uses that would benefit the neighborhood and broader community. In addition, a letter in opposition to the historic designation was submitted by David Campbell, the owner of the Campbell & Sons Funeral Home, which leases out one of the buildings poised for demolition at 124 W. Park Avenue.
The building at 1015 Whitaker St. was purchased by Dulany Industries in 2020 and will be demolished under the plan. Eric Curl/Feb. 13, 2024
Jepson said on Friday that the demolition will not move forward until they found a new place for Campbell’s funeral home to operate.
“We’re not kicking him out with no place to go,” he said.
The property owners said previously that the development will create office space for local companies and their employees, while helping to address area parking challenges, as more downtown office buildings are set to become hotels.
In addition to housing his company’s employees, Jepson said the office complex is expected to house employees from Sterling Seacrest Pritchard and Dulany Industries, which currently own two of the buildings being demolished, and Hunter Maclean, following the sale of the law firm’s downtown building to Marriott last year.
In addition to the potential garage, the city is also planning on addressing increased parking demands south of downtown by having a consultant conduct a parking study, as previously reported. A request for proposals was issued last August in response to the challenges presented by increased development throughout the area, Mobility & Parking Services Director Sean Brandon said at the time. In October, two companies submitted proposals to conduct the study, however, a contract has not yet been presented to the city council for consideration.
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If they are charging for parking in the building, they will have to charge for parking in all surrounding areas, or the tenants won’t use the garage parking. Does that mean that the parking study will be done with a required conclusion of meters throughout?
I certainly understand the need for parking and revenue for the city. But it is disappointing that certain members of the city council only care about preserving certain types of architecture and don’t see these building’s historical value. The Sterling Seacrest building is one of my favorites and I love walking by it.