Savannah, Ga — (WSAV) City Council meets this week to begin it’s 2017 session and they have a busy year planned with major projects like the Canal District Arena set to be voted on.
Context
In November of 2013, voters renewed the existing 1% Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for a six-year period. Included in the SPLOST proposal is up to $120 million for a new arena.
The plan to redevelop the Canal District to the west of West Boundary Street presents an opportunity to create a vibrant new center of activity in Savannah’s core, integrally connected with multi-modal transportation network serving pedestrians, cyclists, automobiles and rail transit.
The presentation lays out a unified vision utilizing publicly owned assets, such as the historic ornate bridges of the Central of Georgia Railroad and the Ogeechee and Springfield Canal, and significant vacant City-owned property in the area, which would create a system of parks, trails and complete streets to create one of the most memorable parts of Savannah.
Chatham Area Transit has outlined a desire to extend a streetcar network through the Canal District, linking the arena to River Street. Greenways along existing historic canals, and a redeveloped Gwinnett Street would create new pedestrian corridors to the nearby Historic District, which begins at West Boundary Street, less than half a mile away.