Reimagining the future of the southside’s Savannah Mall site is catching its second wind.
The Urban Land Institute Savannah conducted a technical assistance panel in April to study possibilities for redevelopment of the now-closed mall site into a community hub. The institute’s study laid out four broad approaches to the future of the site for council to consider.
The four options include a town center, where residents can gather, shop and access public resources; a public or private sports and recreation hub; a mixed-use community hub to live, work and play; and new neighborhood housing.
“We are re-engaging the south side redevelopment at the Savannah Mall site, and so our purpose here today is really to spark your imagination,” Savannah’s Assistant
Director of Planning and Urban Design Edward Morrow told council Thursday. “What you're going to hear is not a plan. I want you to think of it as an approach.”
The workshop discussion marked a new step in the city’s efforts to reposition the property after the Congress for New Urbanism first proposed in 2018 retrofitting the mall into a residential district with an anchor park. The study foresaw the mall’s shrinking use and provided an early conception of how it could be adapted for reuse.
The mall went on to close in 2023, and the CNU study was never formally adopted by the city council at the time. But the latest ULI panel sought to draw on its work.
“We’re continuing that work to try and move forward with repositioning the southside into the assets and developments our community wants to see,” said City Manager Jay Melder.
ULI’s report to council laid out a timeline of next steps for the city stretching out to roughly seven years. Near-term items included crafting a vision statement for redevelopment and for the city to potentially acquire the mall property.
The panel recommended the city control the site and drive the redevelopment process in order to shape future development based on community priorities. That recommendation included the city eventually issuing a Request for Proposals to engage in a public-private partnership for site redevelopment.
The city also has about $18 million from Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax revenues to support the site’s repositioning.
“This represents another huge opportunity, the most extensive and expensive investment in the south side in our city’s history,” said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson. “We can’t mess this up.”
The technical assistance panel included a tour of the study area, stakeholder interviews with community leaders, businesses and owners of the site. It also convened panel discussions with those same stakeholders.
The panel found a variety of community feedback including the need for more housing, services and the lack of a downtown or town core on the southside. They also heard a lack of trust due to previous plans stalling.
The area’s Alderman Kurtis Purtee said he personally favors the town center concept and feels that vision may best match what he has heard the community desires, saying it was the approach that "gained the most traction" during the study process.
Purtee added he knows the development process will be a long one, but he is happy to see the latest momentum on the project.
"This is a good, next step in making this happen," he said.
Evan Lasseter is the City of Savannah and Chatham County government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@savannahnow.com.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Mall redevelopment gains new momentum with latest study
