So, if we ever build that new arena just west of downtown, what should we do with the current one?
Now that the public debate is beginning in earnest, here’s a quick recap of ideas from this column over the years.
Speaking really broadly, we have three general options.
Some want the current arena site to remain in public hands.
At City Council’s recent retreat, there was talk of a movie soundstage. Columnist Tom Barton has suggested a new stadium.
Ideas like these are certainly worth consideration at this early stage, but let’s keep in mind that the arena — and the entire Civic Center — sits on some of the most valuable property in the city.
If we get that land back into private hands, we’ll encourage private sector economic activity and see increased property tax collections in perpetuity.
A second option for the current arena site would be to sell the land to the highest bidder.
That almost certainly means more hotels. We love tourists here at City Talk, but it’s hard to make the case that we need additional major hotel construction in the heart of the Historic District. There is ample land on downtown’s fringes for new hotels.
So a third option for the current arena site is to guide private development that would benefit most downtown stakeholders.
That probably means some sort of mixed-use development that includes retail, office and residential development and that re-creates as much of the Oglethorpe plan as possible. As has been noted here often, the Oglethorpe plan has proved vibrant and versatile right into the modern day.
One of the most intriguing ideas I’ve heard over the years would be to have both a grocery store and a movie theater on the footprint of the current arena. Since the arena floor is below ground level, it would be pretty straightforward to have a level of subterranean parking, a grocery store at ground level and a multiplex above. That plan would still leave the entire Civic Center parking lot for residential and commercial development.
We could consider affordable housing for part of the site, but we could also consider a more focused form of workforce housing that would make small apartments available to entry-level public school teachers and public safety officers.
We’ve got some time to have a spirited community debate about the fate of the site, and we need to take some time to make sure we get it right. Here’s hoping city leaders listen to their constituents about the options and don’t formulate a grand plan behind closed doors.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, Ga. 31401.
