Over the last year, the City of Savannah, neighborhood residents, and other stakeholders worked together to develop the Canal District Master Plan and accompanying Action Playbook. The Canal District is in Greater West Savannah and bounded by Louisville Road, Boundary Street, I-16, Stiles Avenue and Magazine Street. The area is part of a designated Federal Opportunity Zone and historically vulnerable, low-wealth community.

The new SPLOST-funded arena is one of the largest projects the City has undertaken. It, along with the Canal District, presents an opportunity to create a vibrant, community-focused center of activity in an underserved area, while also providing new opportunities for surrounding neighborhoods and the families who live there.

The Master Plan consists of two critical documents that will guide the future of the area. The Master Plan focuses on the process, vision and the physical plan for the Canal District. The Action Playbook outlines collective actions that need to be implemented in an equitable and inclusive way to benefit all areas impacted by future development around the Canal District.

The goal of the Master Plan is to protect communities by having historic structures and neighborhood features maintain their significance as pillars of social life along the Canal; rebuild nature and elevate civic life so the Springfield Basin’s wetlands and canals return to being a source of strength for the City and its activities; and continue to grow the city through sustainable development that fills out reclaimed spaces throughout a new central system of paths, streets and parks.

The Master Plan included an open and participatory community process that consisted of a series of public workshops which included:

• Listening Workshop to present preliminary plans and hear feedback from the community (August 22, 2019);

• Visioning Workshop to draft the plan principles and priorities (September 14, 2019);

• Plan Workshop called “District Connections: Water and People” to look specifically at drainage issues (October 10, 2019); and

• Neighborhood Summit to review the comprehensive set of recommendations for the master plan (November 6 and 7, 2019).

Neighborhoods impacted by future development like Historic Carver Village, Brickyard, Collat’s Quarters, Springfield Terrace, Cloverdale, WaterWorks and West Savannah were also engaged to discuss specific issues and solidify recommendations for the Master Plan and Action Playbook.

Following the City Council Workshop held on April 23, 2020, the Metropolitan Planning Commission (MPC) launched an online survey to gather feedback and comments on the proposed development. Additionally, three virtual meetings were held to share information about this opportunity with the community. A video was also produced by the City’s Public Communications Office to highlight the Master Plan.

Approval