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City staffers are proposing a more direct approach for attracting desired tenants to the city-owned shopping center on Waters Avenue after two previous attempts failed to lure the type of businesses sought by the Savannah City Council and area residents.
Now, the city plans to submit another request for proposals but will use an adjusted strategy to try to bring more than low-budget retail establishments to the corridor, according to a memo City Manager Stephanie Cutter recently sent to the mayor and aldermen.
The strategy includes aggressive and targeted marketing of the property to the real estate offices of small retail, grocery and pharmacy chains with neighborhood-scale footprints more suitable to the size of the property and needs of the surrounding neighborhood.
To better attract prospective developers, the city would highlight the investment planned for the shopping center, located at 36th Street, and along the corridor.
Those investments include a $326,000 contract with Pioneer Construction for parking lot improvements such as landscaped islands and decorative pavers, which are nearing completion. In addition, the city plans landscaping and sidewalk improvements along Waters from Victory Drive to Wheaton Street.
The streetscaping project’s $319,500 design contract with EMC Engineering was recently finalized, with construction expected to begin in December.
The city intends to designate the Waters Avenue corridor as an enterprise zone, which makes incentives such as tax abatements and utility connecting fee waivers available for businesses.
Cutter said she anticipates releasing the request for proposals in the fourth quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the city will continue to maintain the property, she said.
Alderwoman Mary Osborne, who represents the district where the shopping center is located, said she welcomes the targeted approach.
“What we’ve been doing hasn’t been working,” Osborne said.
The streetscaping improvements along the corridor also should help bring in the type of businesses they want, she said.
The latest plan comes after city officials and council members deemed the three most recent purchase proposals inadequate. In addition to desirable tenants, the city had required that the structure be renovated at the new owner’s expense and the $1.6 million purchase price be recouped from the sale.
The city had planned to use the shopping center for a police precinct station when it bought the property in 2009. That plan was abandoned after staff found the property would be too expensive to renovate. The building currently has two tenants — a barbecue restaurant and a beauty supply store — with four other units vacant.
