By Eric Curl
Nov. 11, 2025 – On Monday, a Chatham County Superior Court judge denied a motion by residents seeking to block a state bond validation for the proposed office buildings and underground parking garage across from Forsyth Park’s southwest end.
Although the residents had the right to intervene under Georgia law, their filing failed to comply with procedural requirements, according to the ruling. The court found the motion deficient because it did not include specific claims or defenses related to the bond issue, instead referencing pleadings from a separate zoning lawsuit that were too broad and voluminous. The judge also noted that they filed their request late the night before the Nov. 4 validation hearing, making it difficult for others to respond.
The order was the court’s second rejection in a week for the opponents of the project. Monday’s order came after the same judge’s denial on Friday of a motion for contempt against the city and the developers in the residents’ separate lawsuit seeking to stop the project.
The judge found that a previous order allowed work on the underground parking facility, since that work was “not fully dependent” on abandoned zoning and land-use approvals for the office buildings. In addition, permit applications related to the garage likewise fell within that allowance and that the garage was not subject to the zoning’s 60 percent building-coverage limit, because it is constructed below ground and therefore does not “cover” the lot under the city’s ordinance definitions, the ruling stated.
Because neither the private developers nor the city violated the April 10 order, and the city’s October 2025 notice of undertaking was not dependent on the abandoned approvals, the court concluded that no contempt occurred.
The developers abandoned their rezoning and variance applications for the project in April, following the lawsuit by the residents, who alleged procedural flaws and violations of Georgia’s Zoning Procedures Law. The demolitions of the buildings were then permitted by the court to proceed while the lawsuit was litigated, and the structures were razed in September.
Last month, the properties along Whitaker Street and Park Avenue were conveyed to the city, which eliminates the need for the design of the buildings to go before the Historic Preservation Commission for further review.
PROJECT 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.
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