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A proposed $25 million waterfront apartment complex got an initial OK this week from the Metropolitan Planning Commission despite some backlash from neighbors worried about safety and boat access.
The property at Jasmine and Bismark avenues is the site of the old German Country Club, established more than a century ago by German immigrants and sustained through later generations, several of whom attended Tuesday’s meeting.
View: Waterfront Residential Development Parcel
For some years, the 20-acre property, boasting 700 feet of frontage on the marsh along Country Club Creek, a dining hall, pavilion, bowling alley and pool had fallen into disrepair as membership and interest in the club waned.
Hank Gerken, president of the Country Club of Savannah, and whose mother and father were born on the property, said after careful deliberation, two-thirds of the club’s shareholders voted to sell.
The club’s property, purchased for just $6,000 in 1913, is now valued at close to $1 million, according to property records. Commercial real estate firm Gilbert and Ezelle listed the property for the club earlier this year at $2.25 million and is presently under contract for an
undisclosed sum with J.M. Ventures development firm.
Catherine Tillman, a native Savannahian whose grandfather and father were caretakers there during the early 20th century, said she initially had mixed feelings about selling but realized the club’s glory days were gone.
“I realized the life of the place was no longer what it was, the life was dying, the buildings were rotting, the membership was below 50, there was difficulty paying bills and the days of the German festivities and German suppers were all gone,” she said. “I decided the best thing to do was sell and give it a new life.”
That new life will be a development called Heron Walk, comprised of 27 two-story structures for a total of 244 apartments and will include 409 parking spaces, a clubhouse, pool and about 9.6 acres of green space.
The development will have a stationary dock with a floating dock and boat ramp, though commissioners asked the developer to revisit the problem of boat storage with such narrow access.
“What will make this project different from most any other project you see in the area is that this will be done with good planning practices, with sensitivity to the environment and green spaces,” said Jim Vandenburg, a co-developer of the project.
Despite these assurances, neighbors flooded the meeting Tuesday to voice opposition to the plan, particularly the rezoning to accommodate multi-family.
Nathan Stone, who said he was the largest waterfront property owner on Country Club Creek, said he is vehemently opposed to development of a full-fledged boat ramp.
“When we talk about custodians of the waterfront, and I consider myself one, we’re talking about people who are good citizens because they are responsible,” said Stone. “It is my experience as a property owner and landlord that tenants tend not to be responsible.”
Other neighbors said they feared multi-family apartments would attract more crime.
“We already live in a high-crime area. Adding more apartments means we’re just going to have more crime,” said Doris Gladden.
“It just does not fit,” said Michael Butler, a resident of Mead Avenue. “We’re not against them selling the land, and we’re not against them developing the land, (we think) single-family homes would be a great thing for this neighborhood.”
In addition to public comment, the Mulberry Hill and Bonna Bella neighborhood associations submitted a petition, signed by 23 residents, outlining their concerns, including environmental effects on the marsh and creek, increased traffic flow and water and sewer impact.
The petitioners, represented by attorney Harold Yellin, said conversations with neighbors had been productive but said some concerns, such as higher crime, are unfounded.
Commissioners recommended approval of the general development and rezoning of the property from single-family (R1) to multi-family (R-3-18). Only commissioner Ben Farmer voted against the plans over concerns about boat access and the impact on what he called the close-knit community there.
Because the property is located outside city limits, the development plans will next go before the Chatham County Commission.