City manager presents vision for westside 'canal district' (Savannah, Forsyth: sales, real estate)

[Airforceguy]

City manager presents vision for westside 'canal district'

City manager presents vision for westside 'canal district' | savannahnow.com

[912]

Dumb.

[Newsboy]

I like the idea, but it seems rather silly considering there's that big, empty, undeveloped piece of land just east of the Marriott that the city has already spent MILLIONS on to build streets, sewers, water lines, etc.

[gentlearts]

I'm not piling on her yet. It's an idea. People shouldn't be afraid to run ideas up the flagpole and see who salutes.
If everyone is a do nothing, then that is what we get.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

I'm not piling on her yet. It's an idea. People shouldn't be afraid to run ideas up the flagpole and see who salutes.
If everyone is a do nothing, then that is what we get.

"Where there is no vision, the people perish." -- PROVERBS 29:18

[ellie]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

I like the idea, but it seems rather silly considering there's that big, empty, undeveloped piece of land just east of the Marriott that the city has already spent MILLIONS on to build streets, sewers, water lines, etc.

Two completely different things. One is an extension of the historic district, the other is a means to connect existing parts of the city using the canals.

People have been batting this idea around for a couple of decades. It has potential to benefit more than just a few real estate developers.

[Newsboy]

After examining the project documents in detail (well, as detailed as they can be in the proposal stage) I'm all for it! It looks wonderful, and as the information points out, this is all land that the city already owns. It seems like a win-win ... IF voters will be wise enough to renew the SPLOST! There seems to be a lot of grumbling in the community AGAINST building a new arena, which seems rather silly since voters already approved of the idea in the previous SPLOST vote. I'm hoping that it's just a very vocal minority, as is usually the case with these things in Savannah. The benefits of a new arena are obvious; MLK is falling down and an embarrassment to the city and NEEDS to be replaced ... if not now, then when? At least this announcement answers the question of WHY the council choose the Canal site. I give props to the city manager. She's at least thinking outside the box.

http://ftpcontent5.worldnow.com/wsav...sentation1.pdf

PICS: What The New Savannah Arena Could Look Like - WSAV: News, Weather, and Sports for Savannah, GA

[912]

^Couldn't disagree more.

There's no need for an arena, as we have existing space at the Civic Center & the Trade Center. Plus, most events that come to the CC don't even fill it! We also have space at the Forsyth Park Amphitheater...even Grayson Stadium. No need to build new space for rap concerts & gun shows.

As for SPLOST, I'm against it this time. It's chock full of pet projects & none for roads (my understanding). Also, the dirty little secret about SPLOST: When you vote for it, you vote to fund the obligations in it, but not for the ongoing maintenance. Where does the money for THAT come from? Increased taxes! So a vote for SPLOST is a vote to have your taxes raised twice! Who would do that to themselves?

[Newsboy]

40 percent of the sales tax revenue collected in Chatham County comes from tourists. We would be fools not to capitalize on such a windfall, no matter the circumstances. This is easy money, and as has been shown with both the previous SPLOST and E-SPLOST ... the benefits are irreplaceable. Could you imagine what this community would be like without the previous sales taxes passing?

FYI: Everybody was agaisnt the trade center when it was first proposed in the 1990s. No one regrets it now.

[DanielAvery]

Politicians love to build new facilities if not just to have photos of themselves with the gold shovels and giant ribbon-cutting scissors. "See what I got for you, Mr. and Mrs. Voter?" (as if the politicians paid for it with their own money) Of course I would prefer the money be spent on new facilities rather than remodeling the City Manager's office (ahem). I'm just skeptical that any large-scale proposal such as this will bear any resemblance to the finished product once the local politicians, special-interest groups and civic organizations get hold of it.