By Eric Curl
April 16, 2023 – Beyond the gateway currently under construction, the Savannah College of Art and Design is continuing to develop a world of make-believe off Louisville Road.
SCAD recently submitted plans to construct multiple backlot buildings as part of the film studio complex the university is developing along the corridor west of Savannah’s downtown historic district. The plans include the construction of buildings resembling a subway station, New York-style brownstones, a convenience store and gas station, rowhouses and a fire station for students to use for filming projects.
In addition to the backlot structures, the multimillion-dollar project includes renovation of four existing buildings within the property to support proposed studio facilities. In 2021, SCAD opened a mixed reality LED volume stage, which uses camera tracking and real-time rendering to create an immersive virtual environment, visible live on set and shot directly on camera, according to SCAD’s website.
The complex’s origin story begins with SCAD’s $1.6 million purchase of the Savannah Film Studios property in 2014, a former meatpacking plant that was renovated to house the now defunct Meddin Studios. That purchase was followed by SCAD’s acquisitions of surrounding properties, including a 6.7-acre industrial site in May 2020 and 2.84-acre warehouse site in October 2019, as previously reported.
Old Town Trolley considering paranormal experience for site following Liberty Street building acquisiton
The “Old Town District” may soon be a fitting name for the northeast corner of Liberty Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.
Old Town Trolley recently invested $3 million to purchase the downtown Savannah building at 416 W. Liberty St., which previously housed the Distillery Ale House for 11 years before the bar and restaurant shut its doors in 2020.
The company is still in the conceptual stage of determining how the property will be used, although the building is expected to serve as another Old Town attraction such as the American Prohibition Museum in City Market, according to the company’s regional manager, Charlie Brazil. The area surrounding the newly acquired property has a “substantial haunted heritage” and they are considering some type of paranormal programming for the site, Brazil said.
The company is also planning to convert a former parking garage next to the Liberty Street building into a restaurant and bar with retail space and a museum, as previously reported. In addition, the company is in the process of renovating the adjacent Old Town Trolley building at 250 MLK by making improvements to the guest service area in front.
Kessler submits building permit application, building plans for newly acquired mansion
Luxury hotel developer Richard Kessler recently submitted a building permit application for interior improvements to the historic mansion he recently purchased at 26 East Gaston St. The building permit application included renderings by local architect Christian Sottile.
The plans show the floor plans of the home’s three levels and basement, which include five bedrooms and one room described as a apartment. The illustrations also show a lounge, wine cellar, pool and gym.
Kessler purchased the 115-year-old mansion for $4.75 million in February, as previously reported. He remains focused on renovating the “iconic” residential property overlooking Forsyth Park and Drayton Street and has not made any decisions about long-term plans for the property, according to his spokesperson, Allison Hersh.
Once in the way of development plans, former Savannah railroad terminal condemned as “unfit for human habitation”
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 at 703 Louisville Road 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 in March 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.
In case you missed it
‘Savannah Morning News’ building now devoid of SMN staff, shuttered presses to be dismantled
April 3, 2023 – The newspaper’s name may still grace the building’s entrance, but Savannah Morning News employees recently moved out and the former owner is now taking steps to remove the last remnants of the publication’s presence at 1375 Chatham Parkway.
The city recently issued Augusta-based Morris Communications a permit to have Thompson Building Wrecking Co. dismantle, remove and dispose of the 20-year-old building’s newspaper presses, dock conveyors and associated gear at a cost of $70,000. In addition, Morris submitted a permit application to demolish the partition walls inside the newspaper’s mailroom. Read more>
With $6.5M purchase, downtown church seeks to address parking woes
April 10, 2023 – The Independent Presbyterian Church’s parking challenges downtown may soon be alleviated with the recent purchase of two nearby parcels just east of the Savannah Civic Center.
The church purchased a parking lot on Barnard Street, north of Orleans Square, along with a 19th-century home and associated parking on Oglethorpe Avenue, for $6.5 million, on April 3. Read more>
SCAD to buy building after Ghost Coast Distillery’s closing
April 6, 2023 – Less than half a mile long, Indian Street packs in about three blocks worth of recent development projects just outside of Savannah’s downtown historic district. With the pending sale of a 60-year-old building on the corridor’s west end, that evolution is set to continue.
The Savannah College of Arts and Design recently submitted plans to renovate the building that formerly housed the Ghost Coast Distillery at 641 West Indian St. SCAD is under contract to purchase the building to renovate the structure for “state-of-the-art” classrooms. Read more>
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