With Savannah's intown neighborhoods redeveloping quickly, clarity needed on zoning policies
This is the City Talk column by Bill Dawers, a longtime contributor to the Savannah Morning News.
The apartments in the newly renovated St. Paul’s Academy are now listed for rent by Rendezvous Property Management. A studio will run $1,250 per month, with one-bedroom units starting at $1,600 and two-bedroom units starting at $2,250.
The historic school with its grand entrance sat vacant for many years before being purchased by SCAD in 2014 and then by the current owner, Chatham 38th St. School LLC, in fall 2021. The developers stuck to a tight timetable, preserved a gorgeous building and are injecting new life into a block that had contributed little to the neighborhood since St. Paul’s closed.
The Lowe, a new apartment building at 1501 Montgomery St., is now accepting rental applications. Studios and one-bedroom units start around $1,600 a month, and two-bedrooms start around $2,400. Bounded by Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and West 31st, West 32nd and Montgomery streets, the complex will likely add about 200 new residents to an area that has seen dramatic population loss in recent decades.
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There are other residential projects in the Montgomery Street corridor, including a large apartment building under construction just northeast of The Lowe, as well as projects in some stage of development elsewhere in Thomas Square, including a relatively modest apartment complex at 37th and Habersham streets.
New residential construction is underway further north as well, in and around the Landmark Historic District. It remains to be seen how much the growing supply of units impacts average rents in the area.
The increased population density is going to have many positive impacts, especially as the new residents support locally owned businesses.
Some concerns about the additional density will largely fade away once residents move in. The Matadora, a relatively new apartment building on East 31st Street at Bull Street, generates far less noise and traffic than the police precinct that formerly occupied a portion of the site. Issues with parking demand spilling across Drayton Street could be addressed through new protections for residents of the impacted block.
What's the policy hold up?
I don’t know what these various projects would have looked like if Savannah already had ordinances in place for impact fees and inclusionary zoning. I support both those policies, but future developers might push for additional stories and might also charge higher rents for market-rate units.
Neighborhoods in the greater downtown area would ultimately benefit if inclusionary zoning and impact fees led to denser developments than those now in the pipeline, but that would lead to more pushback from residents and increased concerns about the city’s historic character.
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With elections looming later this year, there is too much uncertainty about how, when or even if Savannah city officials are going to tackle these difficult issues related to development. Members of City Council seemed far from consensus during a detailed discussion about impact fees last summer, and an early version of an inclusionary zoning ordinance would not even apply in some areas that are likely to see considerable development pressure.
It’s also worth noting that a resolution passed a year ago said that “it is the will of this City Council to implement a Savannah-specific mandatory inclusionary zoning ordinance before the end of 2022.”
No matter where voters stand on these issues related to growth and development, they deserve some clarity before deciding which candidates to support in the fall.
Contact Dawers via @billdawers on Twitter and CityTalkSavannah@gmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah residential development growing wait continues on policies
