| 12/31/2006: 2006 Brought A Few Historic Changes |
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Savannah Morning News By Bill Dawers Savannah Morning News Since this column is appearing on New Year's Eve, I suppose I'm obligated to say something about the past year. In many respects, 2006 was momentous, with several developments that will continue to have an impact on the city for the next century and beyond. If that sounds like City Talk hyperbole, just read on. The year began with the demolition of the City Market Parking Garage. The re-creation of Ellis Square, and the attendant commercial development of the surrounding blocks is a truly historic moment in Savannah's long, complex history. When it has been fully restored, Ellis will probably overnight become the city's most utilized square. The Ellis Square project also might mark a historic shift in how Savannah thinks about parking. Surface parking lots - or even large above-ground garages for that matter - rarely represent the best use of land in a city. Maybe, after more than a half-century love-hate relationship with the automobile, Savannah has reached a turning point in its thinking about cars, parking, mass transit and related issues. Another historic moment occurred in March, with the opening of the Telfair Museum of Art's Jepson Center. Aside from its obvious importance in the cultural life of the city, the acceptance of the building itself might represent a shift in the way Savannahians think about contemporary architecture. And the Jepson might represent a change in the way Savannah thinks about itself. Given the choice between a progressive city that looks to the future and a proud city that is protective of its past, why not choose both? Another major development last spring was the grand opening of Abercorn Common, the first shopping center in the nation to receive Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver Certification. The result of years of work by the local folks at Melaver Inc., Abercorn Common sets a new national standard for sustainable design and architecture. However different they may be, the Jepson Center, Ellis Square and Abercorn Common have some key things in common. They are all significant for their roles as public spaces - for commerce, for community, for culture. But all three also seem to be physical manifestations of shifting paradigms of how we design the spaces in which we live. OK, those are the three developments that strike me as the most historic ones of 2006, but I'm sure regular readers will think that I should have mentioned other things. The completion of the new building for the Savannah Economic Development Authority on Hutchinson Island might turn out to be a momentous development. There's no question that other projects will follow it, but it's too early to say much of anything for sure. Richard Florida's recent visit might be the kick-in-the-pants the area needed to consider more fully how we train and retain the skilled workers for the new century. Florida, by the way, continues to tout Savannah. His blog on Thursday - found at creativeclass.typepad.com/thecreativityexchange/2006/12/wow_savannah_ro.html - was devoted to the early success of the Savannah Children's Choir and the work of founders Cuffy Sullivan and Roger Moss. The public's renewed anger about crime and the arrival of Police Chief Michael Berkow were certainly historic, but the jury is still out - to say the least - on whether those changes will have any long-term impact on Savannah's deeply rooted crime problem. The passage of the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and the E-SPLOST for education will certainly produce many changes in the county over the next couple of decades, but all the major projects on the agenda have detractors raising legitimate questions about their need, cost or both. The past year saw generally positive changes along three of Savannah's historic commercial corridors: Bull Street south of Forsyth Park, Broughton Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. But significant questions - not to mention key vacant and underused properties - remain for all three of those areas. And it's worth noting that 2006 saw the continuation of a key trend that I've followed since this column began way back in 2000. The life and culture of Savannah continue to be enriched by individual entrepreneurs who take incredible personal risks in hopes of improving their own lives and the life of the city. |