By Eric Curl
April 6, 2025 — The Savannah City Council is set to vote this Thursday on a $773,685 contract for consultation services tied to two major parking garage projects — one at Forsyth Park and the other at Eastern Wharf.
The Forsyth Parking Garage is part of a larger, mixed-use development led by Forsyth Commons LLC that includes three office buildings, and an approximately 450-space underground garage built beneath two or more of the buildings. The project site spans the area occupied by mid-century office buildings and a funeral home adjacent to Forsyth Park.
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In February 2025, the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) approved zoning variances for the building heights, despite considerable resident opposition. The variances allow the buildings to exceed the 45-foot height limit in the Victorian Historic District, as previously reported.
Residents have voiced concerns about the potential impact on traffic, scale and neighborhood character. A legal challenge has been filed in Chatham County Superior Court, alleging violations of property rights and improper rezoning procedures. The city and developers have denied the claims in their court response.
The Eastern Wharf parking garage is a separate development featuring 600–700 parking spaces with approximately 250 residential units constructed above or around the garage. The garage will serve the growing residential and commercial district along the riverfront just east of the Downtown Historic District.
The proposed consultant, Stantec Consulting Services, will assist with design review, constructability analysis, quality control, and project management to ensure compliance with specifications, budget and schedule. In addition, other responsibilities for the consultant include coordinating with developers, overseeing construction administration, managing change orders, and facilitating project closeout.
Each garage is expected to undergo eight months of design and 24 months of construction, according to information provided with the Request for Proposals. Construction is not phased but will overlap in timeline, requiring simultaneous oversight and coordination.
The city is issuing bonds through the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) to fund the underground garage adjacent to Forsyth. Three hundred fifty of those spaces would be allocated to the office building during business daytime hours and 100 would be allocated for public use. All of the spaces are to be publicly available after business hours and on the weekend.
To assist with the debt payments, SEDA is to assume the subterranean rights of the project site and collect a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) from the project developers. The PILOT is to be used to partially fund the debt service on the garage, while parking fees are expected to cover the remainder.
The developer is also expected to construct public restrooms at Forsyth Park as part of the agreement.
The agenda’s staff report does not provide details concerning the funding of the Eastern Wharf garage.
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