By Eric Curl
Jan. 11, 2026 – The City of Savannah recently confirmed it will bypass the Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) design review for the proposed office buildings and underground parking garage across from Forsyth Park. Instead, the city will proceed under an internal review framework that city officials say will replicate key elements of HPC oversight of the project at Whitaker Street and Park Avenue.
In a Dec. 17 letter to the HPC, City Manager Jay Melder acknowledged the commission’s request that the city council formally opt into a review for the project, which is located within the Victorian Historic District. The city declined to do so, with Melder citing its legal authority to treat the project as exempt due to city’s recent acquisition of the property.
“The City remains committed to rigorous and transparent review process that meets the expectations of our residents and City Council,” Melder said. “We appreciate your response to our request for feedback and will use that to inform our process, which upholds established development and preservation standards.”
Rather than formal HPC review, the city manager outlined an alternative process involving an internal design and compatibility review committee composed of city staff and contracted urban planning and design consultants. That committee is tasked with evaluating project standards, height, massing, and compatibility with surrounding historic resources, and is authorized to impose conditions similar to those typically required by the HPC, according to Melder.
The city also announced additional archaeological work will take place at the site. Brockington and Associates has been retained to complete a comprehensive Phase I archaeological assessment to update an earlier survey of the site. According to the city manager, no additional permits will be issued, and no further land disturbance will occur until the archaeological review is completed and any required next steps are identified.
“The final Phase I report will either recommend Phase II testing or state no further actions are needed,” Melder said in a Nov. 7 memo to the developer.
The city manager’s response came after the HPC sent a formal petition letter to Mayor Van Johnson and the Savannah City Council requesting that the council place an item on its agenda to opt into full HPC review for the Forsyth Park office project. While acknowledging the city’s claim of exemption under state law, the commission argued that the public-private nature of the project warranted the same level of transparency and design scrutiny applied to hundreds of privately owned historic properties within the Victorian District.
In that letter, the HPC outlined a series of concerns related to process, documentation, public participation, and compliance. Commissioners stated that the architectural design had not been formally presented by city staff, the architect, or the developer, and that no city or architectural representatives were present at the HPC meeting to answer design questions. The commission also noted it was not provided a deliberation period or clear guidance on how its comments would be used absent formal design authority.
The HPC further criticized the completeness of the architectural materials provided, describing drawings as unreadable, and missing key components such as streetscapes, elevations, signage, and portions of the project site. Without complete plans, the commission said it could not independently assess scale, height, or massing relative to adjacent historic buildings.
Public participation was also a central issue raised by the commission. According to the letter, more than 115 public comments were received, and many residents attended the Oct. 22 HPC meeting, but no formal agenda item for public input had been scheduled in advance. The public comment period was instead added during the meeting, which the commission said limited meaningful engagement and transparency.
Although the HPC emphasized that its action was advisory given the project’s exemption status, the commission urged city council to opt into formal review as a matter of policy, arguing that doing so would reinforce Savannah’s preservation standards, provide a clearer public record, and ensure design accountability while still allowing the project to proceed.
Meanwhile, related litigation challenging aspects of the project has continued to narrow. In December 2025, Chatham County Superior Court Judge Christopher Middleton granted a consent motion dismissing the project developers, Seacrest Seven, LLC, 1015 Whitaker, LLC, and Portfolio Holdings, LLC, from the case filed by residents Clara Greig and Tana Fileccia-Flagg. The dismissal came after the parties agreed the entities were no longer owners of the property at issue, leaving the city as the remaining defendant. The properties were conveyed to the city in October via quitclaim deed pursuant to the amended development agreement approved by the city council on Aug. 14.
Forsyth Park Office Building & Garage Timeline
September 2023 — The Savannah City Council declines to add contributing-resource protections for several buildings on the project site, clearing a path for demolition of the structures.
Link: Savannah Agenda article
March 28, 2024 — The Savannah City Council approves a development agreement between the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA), the City of Savannah and developer Forsyth Commons, LLC enter into a development for an underground public parking garage and office buildings at the parcels adjacent to Forsyth Park.
Link: Development Agreement
Link: City Council agenda item
Jan. 9, 2025 — The City Council approves the rezoning of the subject parcels from TN-1 (Townhouse-Neighborhood) to TC-2 (Town Center) and amends the Future Land Use Map (FLUM) to support the proposed development.
Link: City Council agenda item
Feb. 18, 2025 — The Chatham County–Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission recommends approval of requested height variances: one building up to 71 feet (5 stories) and two buildings up to 57 feet (4 stories) for the project.
Link: Savannah Agenda article
April 2025 – The developers submit a court filing notifying the court they are abandoning their previous rezoning applications and associated permits related to the proposed development along Whitaker Street and Park Avenue. The judge grants the developers’ motions for a 90-day stay and to abandon the rezoning, variances and map amendments related to the office buildings. Link: Savannah Agenda article
July 2025 – A superior court judge rules in a court order that the demolition work could proceed after opponents had sought an injunction to halt the work.
August 14, 2025 — City Council authorizes execution of an amended development agreement, raising the estimated cost of the garage from ~$31.35 M to ~$35 M.
Link: Agenda item
Link: Savannah Agenda article
October 2025 — SEDA approves issuance of $35 million in bonds to finance the garage. Also, the city notifies the Historic Preservation Commission of its intent to treat the office buildings as exempt from the normal design review process under the municipal ownership/exemption path. A 2025 Phase I archaeological survey of the project site found no artifacts or intact archaeological resources and concluded that no further investigation is needed before construction.
Link: News article Savannah Agenda
Link: SEDA meeting agenda
November 2025 – A Chatham County Superior Court judge denied a motion by residents seeking to block a state bond validation for the project. In another complaint, a judge denied a motion for contempt filed by the residents against the city and developers, ruling that the defendants did not violate an earlier order that stayed actions dependent on rezoning approvals.
December 1, 2025
– Petitioners and several private defendants jointly file a consent motion to dismiss Seacrest Seven, LLC, 1015 Whitaker, LLC, and Portfolio Holdings, LLC after those entities cease to own the property.
December 3, 2025
– Chatham County Superior Court grants the consent motion, dismissing the private entities from the case with prejudice and leaving the City of Savannah as the remaining defendant.
December 17, 2025
– City Manager formally declines to opt into HPC review but announces creation of an internal design and compatibility review committee and expansion of archaeological assessment requirements.
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TOP POSTS
I guess where there’s a will there’s a way. How can the city justify circumventing the standard HPC review process by using a sham transfer of ownership to itself to, effectively, allow whatever they want done in the project with no accountability to anyone? This smacks of something amiss. This is a prime example of what happens when one party rule entrenches itself in a community and adopts the attitude that they know better than their constituents. There will be lots of stories of public interest coming out of the construction of this project over the next three years.