Welcome to 2023. It’s not the future anymore and it will soon be the past. Some of you may cry. Others may laugh. Time goes by so damn fast. All I gotta say is I’m getting close to reaching the $3,000 goal for my affordable housing campaign. Feel free to ring in the new year right by supporting the cause.
Also, grab yourself some black eyed peas and a Bloody Mary. I’ve got story updates and questions about what we can expect in 2023. It may be a good read. It may be something to put you back to sleep. Just remember, there’s 24 hours in a day, but only seven days in a week.
You’ve got a chance to win a Savannah Agenda t-shirt by taking the latest quiz. If you read this column, and you’re not too hungover, you should do ok. Chances are on your side. Even if you’re head hurts real bad, you can likely score a t-shirt. Just let me know. It’s 2023. The t-shirts are free.
Stay Engaged Savannah,
Kiah House
After purchasing the Kiah House in April, the Historic Savannah Foundation put a temporary roof over the rotting structure in September to keep it dry during the hurricane season, according to Ryan Jarles, HSF’s Director of Preservation and Historic Properties. HSF also had an engineer evaluate the property to determine what is wrong with the structure, Jarles said. In addition, they are working to get the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which will open the door for grant opportunities and tax credits to help restore the structure, he said.
Built in 1915, the house at 505 W. 36th St. in historic Cuyler-Brownville was transformed into a community museum in the late 1950s by the late artist and educator Virginia Jackson Kiah and her husband, Calvin Kiah, a former Dean of Education at Savannah State College.
In July 2021, the Savannah City Council voted to designate the Kiah house a local historic structure, along with 89 other Cuyler-Brownville properties. Then in December 2021 the city council approved the African Diaspora Museology Institute’s request to install a historical marker outside the home to recognize the significance of the property.
The sale of the property to HSF came after years of deterioration resulting from a more than two-decade-old Chatham County Probate Case concerning Virginia Kiah’s estate. After obtaining the engineer’s report, HSF intends to start holding public engagement events to determine the future use of the property, Jarles said.
Movie studio developer responds to lawsuit
The developer of a proposed 30-acre sound stage and movie production space in the western limits of Savannah recently responded to a breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by a local commercial real estate firm.
In the Dec. 26 court filing, StudioSavannah LLC denies the allegation in the Oct. 25 complaint that Savannah-based Development Associates Inc (DAI). was cut out of its role as an investor and developer in KAT-5 Studios.
StudioSavannah, a partnership between David Paterson of Arcady Bay Entertainment and Taylor Owenby of ISP Global Capital, claims in its response that DAI’s allegations should be dismissed because there was no binding contract between them. The “Term Sheet” is “illusory and merely constitutes an agreement to agree,” StudioSavannah’s response states. “Under these circumstances, there is no valid contract between the parties.”
In August 2021, StudioSavannah successfully petitioned for a height variance to develop the film production complex and theater on Savannah’s western edge at 2442 Fort Argyle Road. StudioSavannah then purchased the property for $1.8 million last February, according to sales records.
In the complaint, DAI says it expended significant capital and resources toward the purchase and development of the project. The company is seeking damages for the economic harm it says was caused by StudioSavannah’s alleged “fraud” and “false promises”.
In its response, StudioSavannah filed a counterclaim seeking relief, including the recovery of attorneys’ fees and costs, related to the “unnecessary trouble and expense” caused by DAI’s complaint.
410 East 37th St.
The historic service station at 410 E. 37th St. has a new owner and a new plan.
Atlanta-based Train Track Investments purchased the vacant 1920s-era gas station for $320,000 in October, according to the sales record.
In December, a building permit application and construction plan was submitted to the city for review. While I am still attempting to get clarification on how the new owner intends to use the building, the documents show a bar inside with beer taps and outdoor seating under the front canopy. The plans also indicate a food truck will operate at the site. The project’s name “Baby’s General Store”, as stated on the building permit application, just raises more questions.
Confined within a triangle-shaped parcel directly adjacent to an active railroad and one of Savannah’s busiest streets, the property has presented a variety of challenges to developers. Previous plans to restore the building for office and residential uses have been abandoned. We’ll see if the challenges are finally overcome in 2023.
518 Broughton St.
The former Southern Motors building at 518 East Broughton St. was purchased for $1.85 million in September by a Hardeeville-based LLC, Insight Real Estate Services, controlled by Jonathan Rhangos, according to the sales record.
The developer also purchased the parking lot across the street at 537 Broughton St. for $1.45 million, according to the sales record. Rhangos, who is the owner of Savannah Hardscapes, did not respond to requests for comment regarding his plans for the property.
New Hutchinson Island apartment development
A plan for a 288-unit apartment complex Hutchinson Island was submitted in December. The project includes a private parking lot, seven enclosed garage buildings and a clubhouse building with a leasing office, mail kiosk and residential amenities.
The complex is proposed to be developed on a more than 16 acre parcel north of Grand Prize of America Avenue that is adjacent to the golf course.
Andrew Irish, with Daniel Corp.com is listed as the owner in the building permit application. Daniel Hutchinson Island, LLC, which shares the address of Daniel Corp, purchased the property for $1.25 million in October 2021, according to property records.
McQueen’s Island Trail
Chatham County officials now say the McQueen’s Island Trail restoration project will not be completed until next year after previously stating they expected the trail to be reopened to the public by last summer.
“Punch list work” which has been underway since May, should be completed by Spring 2023, according to a Dec. 16 staff report.
The 4-year-old restoration project’s completion has been delayed multiple times – with costs increasing from almost $1.5 million to almost $2.6 million – due to storms, high tides and shipping traffic.
Following damage from Hurricanes Matthew and Irma, the county commission approved the original contract for the stabilization project in December 2018. Earlier this year, the US Army Corps of Engineers ended a study it was conducting in partnership with Chatham County to develop long-term strategies to protect the popular recreational trail along the Savannah River. Focused primarily on protecting the stretch of US 80 to Tybee Island, the corps determined the benefits of preventing the erosion of the trail were not worth the costs.
I am awaiting a response after requesting information on Dec. 16 about the latest delay and whether the county expects more cost increases for the project.
Fairgrounds development
It has been more than a year since the Savannah City Council voted in October 2021 to authorize the city manager to negotiate the sale and development agreements with P3 Joint Venture for the development of the former fairgrounds property.
The development group was chosen among three contenders after submitting a development plan for the 66.5-acre site that includes multi-family homes with a focus on senior housing and mixed-use retail, along with a production studio, recreational fields and public trails.
City Manager Jay Melder reported in a June memo to Alderwoman Estella Shabazz that the city expected to have sale and development agreements in place with the development group by this past November. Melder also said the city is committed to breaking ground on the project by October 2023.
Melder made his assurances after a local partner in the development group approved to develop the city owned fairgrounds property left the project after raising concerns about one of the majority stakeholders.
On Dec. 16, I reached out to the city for an update on the project and status of the sale and development agreements. I will publish that information when it is provided.
Curtis V. Cooper Health Clinic
The city transferred ownership of 635 Broughton Street to the Hospital Authority of Savannah in December, according to public records.
As part of an agreement with the city, the hospital authority will in turn lease the property at a rate of $500 a year to the adjacent Curtis V. Cooper Primary Health Clinic for use as a 14-space parking lot.
The agreement was approved by the Savannah City Council last year in an attempt to alleviate the health clinic’s parking challenges following a land swap with a developer.
After the city abandoned plans to build a parking garage there, the property the city swapped in 2019 is now being developed as an apartment complex geared towards Savannah College of Art and Design students.
The one-story building at 635 Broughton St., which previously housed Savannah Pedicab, will be demolished to make way for the parking lot, under the plan.
After being notified that their lease would be terminated to make way for the parking lot, Savannah Pedicab relocated to a new location on Barnard Street, near Duffy Street, on the south end of downtown.
#StayEngagedSavannah
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