Savannah business leader Charles Morris says the redevelopment of the historic Trustees’ Garden property on the eastern edge of the Historic District is going smoothly and there may even be room for two amphitheaters.
Speaking Wednesday to the monthly luncheon of the Savannah Downtown Business Association, Morris detailed his plans for the sprawling community-oriented complex dedicated to arts, culture and wellness. The meeting was held at the namesake Charles H. Morris Center off East Broad Street, one of the first buildings Morris restored on the 10-acre property in 2008.
“Our goal has always been to make sure that the Trustees’ property is financially and environmentally sustainable so it will last for generations and be able to survive,” he said.
The project includes the restoration of the Metal Building on Randolph Street, the rehabilitation of the Kehoe Iron Works Building to the west on Broughton and the eventual creation of an amphitheater (or two). The Metropolitan Planning Commission approved an amended master plan for the site in September.
“The idea is we will have an amphitheater of some sort … maybe two amphitheaters actually,” said Morris. “Down near the Kehoe Building, we think we can have up to 2,000 people down there if we want to.”
The Metal Building is being expanded to 3,600 square feet to accommodate around 700 people for things like trade shows, automotive shows and weddings, Morris said.
The Kehoe Building, meanwhile, will house offices, more event space and a demo kitchen dedicated to teaching healthy cooking and wellness lessons to under served Savannahians in partnership with the Arizona-based nonprofit Canyon Ranch Institute.
Morris is the founder of Morris Multimedia, which operates close to 65 daily and non-daily news publications in addition to television stations and other media holdings.
Morris briefly touched on the precarious issue of parking at the site. In September, the planning board granted a variance of 200 fewer parking spaces than required because of the availability of space in an unpaved open field used for overflow parking.
“My personal thought is … you need to try to get cars out of the core area as much as you can so people will be encouraged to walk and bike just like Bloomberg did in New York,” said Morris, referring to former Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s 2010 decision to permanently close several blocks of Broadway to vehicle traffic to create pedestrian-only zones.
During the excavation of the site, Morris said, his team had discovered and documented several interesting artifacts related to its history. For most of the 20th century, the site was used industrially by Savannah Natural Gas, later purchased by Atlanta Gas Light.
Much earlier, however, there is documentation it was used for tenant housing, a flour mill and, even earlier than that, may have seen some action during the Revolutionary War.
One example of the site’s rich history: The steel beams of the Metal Building are stamped with “Carnegie” and were likely shipped from Andrew Carnegie’s Pennsylvania steel operation during the late 19th century.
“The more we dig, the more we discover,” said Morris. “That’s why I think this is one of the most historical sites maybe in the nation because so much happened down there.”