By Eric Curl
Nov. 27, 2020 – A real estate investment firm recently sold downtown’s Chatham Apartments to the Savannah College of Art and Design for $13 million more than the company paid one year ago for what was then a low-income housing complex.
SCAD, a registered nonprofit, purchased the 14-story building at 609 Abercorn St. for almost $39 million on Nov. 19, according to the sales record.
The purchase comes after Abercorn Apartments LLC, an offshoot of Atlanta-based QR Capital, bought the 1950s-era structure in October 2019 for almost $26 million, according to the sales record and Savannah Morning News article.
Proposed alterations to the 69-year-old building are scheduled to go before the Savannah Historic District Board of Review on Dec. 9. The building, which opened in 1951, was added to the city’s map of historic properties in 2010.
About 50 residents remained in the building in October, after most of the more than 200 residents moved out following last year’s sale, according to this WTOC news story.
In July, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson announced the creation of a housing taskforce charged with drafting a plan for more affordable housing in Savannah – defined as housing that can be obtained by the average resident for less than 30 percent of their gross household income.
Want more affordable housing in Savannah? Let the MPC know.
The Chatham Apartments building is located next to multiple SCAD properties adjacent to Forsyth Park, including a historic four-story building at 612 Drayton Street the university purchased in September for $2.7 million. Three other neighboring SCAD properties include Ruskin Hall, Clinard Hall and Lai Wa Hall.
You can read about other recent SCAD purchases in the posts below:
SCAD buys historic Georgia Medical Medical Society building
With $3.4M purchase, SCAD continues growth west of Savannah’s downtown
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