Savannah Development And Renewal Authority

RIBBON CUTTING FOR THE MIRAGE

Please join us for a ribbon cutting for the Mirage restaurant at 20 East Broughton Street on Wednesday, March 24th at 4:00 P.M. The new restaurant is operated by the same family that has managed Casbah Moroccan Restaurant on Broughton Street for several years and is opening in the space formerly occupied by Kilwin's Chocolates and Ice Cream. Please come out and help us welcome this new business to downtown.

BROUGHTON URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AREA CLEAN-UP FRIDAY MARCH 26TH

Join business, property owners, City of Savannah Departments, Keep Savannah Beautiful, civic and community leaders on Broughton Street to help clean up and spruce up the Broughton Street Urban Redevelopment Area. This event is in conjunction with the Great Savannah Clean up. SDRA’s Broughton Street Task Force will be working closely in the next few months with business, property owners and the city to develop a concentrated program of short and long term maintenance. We will supply bags, gloves, etc. The location to gather is 112 W. Broughton Street. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Regina, SDRA at 651-6973, or by email to ReginaP@sdra.net

ROCKWELL PARK CLEAN-UP SATURDAY MARCH 27TH, VICTORY DRIVE BETWEEN MLK AND MONTGOMERY

The Savannah Chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority has chosen Rockwell Park as a community project. In partnership with SDRA and the City, the Sorority will be adopting the park for quarterly maintenance/clean up. SDRA was instrumental in the refurbishment of this historic park in 2008 working in concert with the Park and Tree Department, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Cuyler Brownville Neighborhood Association and Metropolitan Neighborhood Association and McDonald’s to have the park landscaped into a passive park with sidewalks, seating and lighting. The first clean up on March 27^th is in conjunction with the Great Savannah Clean up coordinated by Keep Savannah Beautiful and key city and civic partners. We will supply bags, gloves, etc. If you would like to volunteer, please contact Regina at SDRA, 651-6973, or by email to ReginaP@sdra.net

BUSINESS SURVIVAL WORKSHOPS TUESDAY MARCH 30TH, 8:30 A.M., 24E, 24 E. BROUGHTON AND WEDNESDAY MARCH 31ST, 11:30 A.M. BLOWIN' SMOKE, 514 MLK

Join fellow business owners for a workshop providing strategies and tools to navigate and to survive during the ups and downs of the economy. The workshop will be conducted by the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center in partnership with SDRA, the DBA, and the MMBA. Two dates are offered for the workshop—March 30^th and 31^st. If you would like to register, or would like more information, please contact Regina at SDRA, 651-6973, or by email to ReginaP@sdra.net.

I-16 FLYOVER STUDY CHARETTE

February 17-19, some 250 citizens attended and participated in a number of informative sessions to identify challenges and share visions related to the potential removal of the I-16 exit ramps at MLK and Montgomery Streets.

During the three day Charrette, neighborhood residents, corridor business and property owners, civic leaders and community partners participated in an open discussion and visioning session, a hands-on charrette, and in transportation, economic development and real estate round-tables. Participants also were able to visit the MLK, Jr. Blvd and Montgomery Redevelopment Expo to view the 52-block MLK, Jr. Blvd Streetscape Plan and time line, the redevelopment strategies and vision, and to visit with business and property owners displaying their pending redevelopment projects along the Corridor. They were also able to meet with representatives from SCORE, Creative Coast, Entrepreneurial Center, Small Business Assistance Center, Small Business Development, and SDRA about business and property development resources. Seimetsu was on hand to sign corridor business and residents up for the low-cost internet services provided through the Digital Divide Program.

The results of this three-day charrette will be compiled and vetted by the Metropolitan Planning Commission through a comprehensive process that includes an Advisory team of civic officials, a technical committee of city, MPC and crucial agencies and a steering committee which includes SDRA’s MLK-Montgomery Revitalization Committee and Planning Committee.

To review the informative slide presentations and preliminary concepts developed during the charrettes, please click here.

It is anticipated that the final study will be completed by the end of the Summer. Additional public input opportunities will be scheduled throughout the study process.

For more information on the redevelopment efforts for the Corridor, please contact SDRA at 651-6973. For more information on the I-16 Exit Ramp Study, please contact Ellen Harris at the MPC, 651-1440.

SDRA RECEIVES GEORGIA DOWNTOWN AWARD FOR BRAND AND MARKETING CAMPAIGN

SDRA was recently recognized by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the Georgia Downtown Association with the 2009 Award for Best Image Building Campaign for the innovative Brand & Marketing Campaign to reintroduce locals to Downtown Savannah. The Campaign was developed through a partnership with the City of Savannah and aims at reintroducing Greater Savannah residents to the renaissance that has occurred in downtown Savannah.

The Award was presented in October at the 2009 Georgia Downtown Conference in Roswell, GA. As the premier conference on downtown revitalization in the state, this event promotes downtown and economic development through public awareness, governmental relations and education. The conference provides an opportunity for downtown and community development professionals and state and local leaders to grow their knowledge regarding programs, activities and tools to aid in revitalization efforts.

For more information please click here.

LAUNCHING OF THE CITY’S FIRST INTERNET TRAINING AND EDUCATION CENTER ON MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. BLVD.

The City of Savannah and the Savannah Development and Renewal Authority are pleased to announce the opening of the first Digital Divide Training Center along the Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard and Montgomery Street Corridor as a part of the Digital Divide Program.The first of its kind in the nation, this innovative program is bridging the digital divide by providing computer hardware, software, training opportunities and internet connectivity to those who might otherwise not have access to those resources. The program is coordinated by SDRA with funding support through the City of Savannah and the Georgia Technology Authority the Wireless Communities Grant Program. To provide key components of the program, SDRA has contracted with Internet Service Provider Seimitsu, and with A.W.O.L (All Walks of Life).

UNIFIED ZONING ORDINANCE INFORMATION

Please visit the Unified Zoning Ordinance web page for unincorporated Chatham County and the City of Savannah. This page is intended to keep you up-to-date on the progress of the Unified Zoning Ordinance (UZO), known informally as the Zoning Update. This process is being managed by the staff of the Chatham County-Savannah Metropolitan Planning Commission. The Zoning Update will consolidate the existing zoning ordinances for the unincorporated areas of Chatham County and the City of Savannah into one document, the Unified Zoning Ordinance. Both zoning ordinances are nearly a half-century old and contain approximately 700 pages of regulations and 126 zoning districts. Unification will allow for greater regulatory consistency and efficiency. To visit the page, please click the logo below.