SCAD to buy building after Ghost Coast Distillery’s closing
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 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, according to a statement issued by the university.
The pending acquisition further establishes the university’s presence along the short stretch of Indian Street extending east from the Talmadge Bridge to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The corridor includes SCAD’s Alexander Hall, Adler Hall, Fahm Hall and Hamilton Hall. The Ghost Coast building is located next to a new SCAD parking garage and across the street from a 17-story student housing complex being built for the university.
City seeking tax credits, development agreement for fairgrounds plan
The city is hoping the developer will soon break ground on the development of the former fairgrounds property, but there are some significant steps that still need to be completed before construction can begin.
At last week’s meeting, the Savannah City Council authorized a $1.92 million loan from the Savannah Affordable Housing Fund to support the low-income housing tax credits application for 64 affordable apartments for seniors. The senior housing is the first phase of the planned development, which is also expected to bring a production studio, recreational fields and public trails at the more than 60-acre site at 4801 Meding St.
The tax credits are a key component for financing of the senior housing, and without them the affordable housing element will not be feasible, according to city spokesperson Keturah Greene.
The tax credit recipients are typically announced by the state in November.
Meanwhile, the city council also approved a purchase agreement with the developer after more than a year of negotiations, but the city and developer are still negotiating a development agreement for the project that would govern the future uses, planned occupancy financing and ownership details.
The purchase agreement gives the two parties 90 days to negotiate the development agreement or the purchasing agreement could be terminated. City staffers say they anticipate submitting the development agreement to the city council for consideration in late July or early August.
The development agreement will be required for the project’s construction to begin, Greene said.
With $6.5M purchase, downtown church seeks to address parking woes
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, according to public records.
The church’s website describes the investment as a “generational opportunity” to secure the property that had been put on the market by the previous owner, JC Lewis Investment Company LLC.
With only 20 parking spots previously, the 60 additional parking spaces acquired through the purchase are expected to better accommodate the 500 members who attend church services on Sunday mornings and 300 who attend in the evening, while the spaces spaces can be leased on weekdays, according to the online message concerning the purchase from Senior Minister Terry Johnson.
Located at 207 Bull St., the church is located one block to the east of the acquired property. The building on Oglethorpe that the church acquired is a 3-story brick home that was built in 1820.
Director of Administration Josh Espinosa said that the church wants to keep the building, a former law office that is currently not occupied, but is prepared to sell it if not enough contributions are received to pay down the debt accrued acquiring the parcels.
Old Town Trolley considering paranormal experience following acquisition of Liberty Street building
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 Trolley 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. 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.
This article appears in Apr 1-30, 2023.
