By Eric Curl
April 20, 2023 – After plans to demolish the building for an apartment complex failed to move forward, an early 20th-century railroad terminal appears to be falling apart on its own.
The city recently condemned the former railroad freight terminal after finding it to be unfit for human habitation, improperly secured, covered in graffiti and surrounded by litter, according to public records obtained through an open-records request.
The notice posted on the building to a Charleston-based company called 703 Louisville Road LLC includes an order that the building be vacated, although the brick structure, covered in overgrown vegetation and graffiti, does not appear to have been used for years.
The building was found to be unfit for human habitation, according to the posted notice. Eric Curl/April 14, 2023
The city recently condemned the former railroad freight terminal after finding it to be unfit for human habitation, improperly secured, covered in graffiti and surrounded by litter, according to public records. City of Savannah property maintenance photo from Jan. 6, 2023
Constructed in 1929, the building is located just outside Savannah’s downtown historic district and recently faced demolition when different developers proposed to replace it with apartment buildings in 2016 and 2019. A zoning change was approved in 2019 by the Savannah City Council, as part of a developer’s plan to construct 255-unit, 7-story multifamily building at the site.
Following opposition from preservationists, the developer agreed to preserve and relocate the east end section of the building to be used as a leasing office. Touted as a “gateway” to the city’s planned Canal District, those development plans have yet to move forward.
Savannah Agenda has reached out to the developer behind the 2019 project and this article will be updated if a response is received.
The building’s western half previously housed the Muse Arts Warehouse for seven years before closing in February 2017, as reported by columnist Bill Dawers in the Savannah Morning News.
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