Dixie Transforming

Savannah, Georgia is a city students of urban planning and landscape architecture study in great detail.  The first capital city of Georgia, it was founded on February 12, 1733 by General James Oglethorpe and his settlers.

Ogelthorpe’s vision for the city was rational and functional.  He envisioned the city unfolding westward from the Savannah River.  Each city ward (similar to a neighborhood) had its own common space.  These common spaces were planned to host military exercises.  The later use of these military grounds as urban parks developed after the colony of Savannah became better secured and defended.  Twenty-four squares were established between the years of 1733-1851.  Wikipedia has a decent rundown of the historic squares.

The rational layout of Savannah's famed historic district.

Today, 22 squares remain, 2 being lost to the plundering wave of urban renewal in the 1950s-60s.  The squares make the historic district of Savannah one of the most walkable cities in the United States.  You can feasibly spend several days walking from one park to the other, enjoying a variety of restaurants, shops, and businesses found in between the squares.  It follows that tourism is one of the city’s biggest economic engines (behind the Georgia Port Authority, aerospace manufacturing, and the US military).  Another noticeable presence in the city is the numerous SCAD students.  The Savannah College of Art and Design campus is scattered across the city’s historic district in 70 ornate Victorian period buildings.  The successful adaptive reuse of these antique facilities is remarkable.  They buzz with the energy and 24-hour presence of young people pursuing careers in the creative arts.

My visit to Savannah took place over the first week in April.  I arrived at precisely the right time: the azaleas, tulips, and camelias were in vibrant spring bloom.  The impressive live oak trees were likewise laden with pollen, giving vehicles a nice powdery sheen of yellow.  I stayed at a home just outside the historic district.  If you refer to the map above, my accommodations were about two inches below Forsyth Park on Barnard Street.  The location was excellent as it gave me distance from the flow of tourist traffic each day and was within walking distance of Forsyth Park.  Forsyth Park is the city’s premiere location for recreational jogging and team sports.  There is simply nothing like an evening jog under the shade of this park’s glorious southern live oaks (Quercus virginiana).

Joggers run the perimeter path at Forsyth Park in early April.

Hutchinson Island: Savannah’s urban frontier

Considering that the city is nearly 300 years old, Savannah’s urban expansion has posed challenges to planners.  Swamps and river deltas cordon the city’s south and eastern borders.  Large airports, busy highways, and military installations act as barriers along its western edge.  The only place for Savannah to go is north, across the Savannah River to the low lying landmass called Hutchinson Island.

The idea to develop Hutchinson Island stemmed from the city’s desire to get into the convention business (see my February post on New Orleans).  Due to the restrictions in the historic district’s building standards, Savannah had been unsuccessful in identifying a proper site of adequate size for new convention center facilities.  Erecting a modern convention center in the heart of Savannah would destroy the very urban fabric that brings tourists there in the first place.  But city planners understood conventioneers would also want access to Savannah’s historic treasures.  The city was pressed to find a solution that 1) allowed convention expansion within the city’s boundaries and 2) maintained the physical integrity of the historic district.

The city’s interest in putting the convention facilities on Hutchinson Island was due to several factors.  Some of the most important considerations included its proximity to the oldest parts of the city (most attractive to tourists) and the sparse development on the island (few neighbors around to object).  Many physical challenges were present: the low-lying island needed dredge material to elevate its shores, water access and roads needed building, there was no connection from the Talmadge Bridge, and ferry service would be required to give the convention center a meaningful link to Savannah’s historic district.  Despite all this, the task seemed doable and the city began construction on the convention center in the late 1990s.  A luxury hotel followed.  Private developers saw an opportunity to erect a luxury residential community and obtained city approval for the project.

That residential community, The Reserve at Savannah Harbor, was one of the sites I visited during my visit in early April.  I was interested to see how the project was faring in today’s economic crisis.  The Reserve’s developers began construction on its first residential units in mid 2007, right before the mortgage collapse of 2008.  Two and a half years later, I anticipated finding few active construction sites.  At the same time I assumed that as one of Savannah’s most exclusive communities The Reserve would be weathering the hard times with measurable grace.

Unbought parcels for sale at "The Reserve". The development's club house (currently boarded up) is in the distance. The lack of sidewalks is a hint that residents are expected to drive.

Once I arrived, I was saddened by The Reserve’s lonely character.  Most of the built properties are for sale.  There are several residences with well-kept lawns and late model cars in the driveways, but for the most part The Reserve fails to strike me as a thriving community.  I spoke to several people I encountered in Savannah and asked them for their thoughts about the city’s role in enabling The Reserve project to get off the ground.  One individual, who works security for the GA Ports Authority, shook his head and laughed: the place was going nowhere fast and it’s a good thing it’s across the river (meaning it remains off the public’s radar screen).  To me, the project seemed emblematic of today’s uncertainty in the real estate market.  If conditions ride out, and buyers interested in “plantation-style retreats” surface with viable credit, the project could very well work out.  After all, everything is ready to go – the 24 Hour security gate is built (though unmanned), the utilities are laid, and the streets paved (although challenged by aggressive weeds at this point).

The entry gate at The Reserve with stamped and tinted concrete detailing designed to look like brick and cobblestone.