The petitioner Robert McCorkle for MCG Savannah Owners, LLC is requesting to rezone a 9.85-acre property at 7810 Abercorn Street (PIN20559 01005) from B-C (Community – Business) to RMF-2-25 (Multifamily Residential-2-25 dwelling units per acre). The property is part of the Oglethorpe Mall, which is privately owned, and includes the former Sears store and auto service center, restaurant out parcel and associated parking. The Oglethorpe Mall opened as a regional shopping center in 1969, yet it is going thru a period of decline and transition.

The subject property is currently developed with retail spaces which are vacant. The property is accessed via an internal road network, Mall Way, which intersects with White Bluff Road, Abercorn Street and Mall Boulevard at different locations. Nearby developed properties include the balance of the Oglethorpe Mall, shopping centers and neighborhood retail east and north of the property, as well as a residential subdivision south of the subject property. The proposed rezoning would change a portion of the subject property to multifamily but maintain the commercial zoning adjacent to White Bluff Road and Abercorn Street for future commercial uses.

The current zoning allows a wide array of commercial uses including upper story residential, hotels, office buildings, grocery stores and other retail and service-oriented business. The proposed zoning would allow an infusion of residential density in an area that is equipped to handle it and allow new multifamily development where current inventory is aging. With access to arterial roadways, the development of the property should not negatively impact traffic or congestion in the area and should complement the existing development.

The proposed zoning would also allow new multifamily residential in a part of the city that has not seen new construction in the multifamily housing sector in some time. Within a one-mile radius of the subject property, there are 19 apartment complexes (see attached exhibit) most of which were built in the 1970s and 1980s. Only two of the nineteen have been built since 1993.

On January 18, 2022, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the request to rezone 7810 Abercorn Street from B-C to RMF-2-25 with the condition that the Site Plan be reveiwed and approved by the Metropolitan Planning Commission.