Forsyth Park parking garage partnership approved by council, Foram development tabled to April
Savannah City Council approved a development agreement to place a 450-space parking garage below a future office complex adjacent to Forsyth Park, giving the project sweeping approval with an 8-1 vote.
The development agreement came with a city request to the Savannah Economic Development Authority to issue $31.3 million in bonds to pay for the garage. Once garage construction is completed by the developer, SEDA will give the parking garage back to the city. The project's developer is Forsyth Commons Holdings LLC.
"We hope that ultimately people will see this as what a good public partnership can be," said Jeff Jepson, executive vice president of Evans General Contractors, who is leading the project.
The garage expenses are expected to be paid for by revenue from the leasing of 300 parking spaces to the city and income from public use of the garage, allowing the project to be fully funded without using taxpayer dollars. Tenants of the office complex are expected to be Evans, Dulany Industries, HunterMaclean and Sterling Seacrest Pritchard.
The agreement included a provision to place public restrooms in the garage. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said at a recent press conference the addition of public restrooms in the project is one of its benefits.
"I want to see some public amenities there. We know that restrooms are a premium, particularly around Forsyth Park," Johnson said. "Where we're able to have opportunities for public restrooms, it makes sense for us to partner."
Jepson said the group will now start engaging the design team, which consists of Greenline Architecture and The Nelson Group, for site plans. A next step also includes meeting with the Victorian Neighborhood Association on the project, Jepson said.
The lone no vote came from Post 2 At-Large Alderwoman Alicia Miller Blakely, who voted to prevent the demolition of the buildings in September 2023. Blakely said not wanting to see the buildings torn down was one of the reasons for her vote.
One other much anticipated agenda item from Thursday's council, a rezoning petition for a mixed-use apartment complex on Gwinnett Street and East Broad Street, was continued to the April 25 meeting. The Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission recommended the petition be denied in November 2023.
The developer made various changes to the site plan after feedback received in the MPC, which were unveiled at a March 19 meeting. Included updates to the proposal are the elimination of an automated parking garage and the removal of a fifth story.
The continuance of the item was to provide an opportunity for updated MPC review and recommendation.
The developer is Foram Development LLC, also known for a stalled development called Starland Village in the Thomas Square Neighborhood. Starland Village on Bull Street is slated to be a 5-story, 58-unit apartment building, but the project has made little progress beyond demolition of the former buildings on the site, according to reporting by the Savannah Agenda.
Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Forsyth Park parking garage partnership approved by Savannah council
