May 31, 2020 After a 2 hour work session, and a five minute dinner break, the Savannah City Council met Thursday evening from 6:30 p.m. until almost midnight with a jam-packed agenda.

One of the night's hottest topics was a proposal to amend the existing lease that the DeLoach administration signed last year with the Tanenbaum family of Savannah to lease a surface parking lot in the area of the new city Arena.

The Council was presented the background on a proposed contract amendment for their consideration during their afternoon Work Session, followed by an almost hour discussion during the evening session, before finally voting.

The current construction plans for the Arena includes an attached 2,000 vehicle parking garage, which will afford acts and teams to unload during rain or hot sun, and to insure that disabled attendees can be dropped off or can park with covered access to the arena. But, thats 400 spaces short from what city officials now believe will the number of total parking spots needed to have a successful arena business.

The lease initially signed by the DeLoach administration was for a 5-year lease at $696,000 per year. The surface parking lot will require with arena attendees to cross a short bridge over the historic Ogeechee Canal. The terms of that deal also forgave the property owners from having to pay property taxes.

Mayor Van Johnson stated during deliberations that he had always had concerns about the deal including paying no property taxes, as well as the annual cost. Alderwoman-at-Large Kesha Gibson-Carter stated on her Friday night Facebook Live posting that she had also questioned the deal, in meetings with City Manager Pat Monahan.

According to Bret Bell, Deputy City Manager, who has working for the past several months on options for a better deal, the lease had a final deadline for amendments by May 31, and he stated that the property owners had other potential buyers, adding that he felt it was important not to lose this parking lot option. Alderman Detric Leggett, however, told Bell that he was very unhappy to be presented the options to change the lease with a gun to our heads with a decision needed that night.

The amended lease proposal before Council Thursday evening included reducing the annual rate down to $525,000 a year, and that the property would remain on the property tax rolls. However, it would be for a 10-year commitment. Johnson state that he supported the deal, to both save money, and to give the City time for the arena to be completed and to assess parking needs.

Bell presented facts on the walking distance, that it would be similar to the distance people walk now attend events at the Trade & Convention Center on Hutchinson Island, which only has a surface parking lot.

District 1 Alderwoman Bernetta Lanier, who represents the residents living around the arena project, said that she was concerned about the city using a surface lot which were not positive for the environment due to water run-off.

Bell then walked the Council through other options they had considered. The City owns several other lots in the immediate area of the arena on which a second garage could be built, but the cost for the surface lot was one-fifth the cost of building a parking garage,according to Bell, and the city would also be giving up one of its remaining pieces of land that could either be used for other purposes in the future, or could sold off after the arena was completed.

It has always been explained to the public that the new arena would be an economic engine for the citys Westside, part of what is termed the Canal District," with a projection that there will be significant private investment in the area and increasing land values.

And, Bell reminded Lanier that the only city-owned lot that was large enough for a second garage would be right up against one of the neighborhoods in the area. The City made a commitment to the residents that we would not do that, he said. And, he added that the only way to enter and access that potential garage would be through the neighborhood streets, also an unacceptable option, he felt.

Options for parking for the arena has been vetted for years, going back to May 2016 when the Savannah City Council heard the final report of the nationally-respected sport arena consulting firm Barrett Sports Group, LLC which was hired to study the citys arena facility needs.

The firm was asked to look at whether the current Savannah Civic Center could be modified for modern and projected future needs; to study the Savannah and regional market and interest in events, concerts and/or a sports team that would be interested in utilizing an Savannah arena if they city had one with a larger capacity; and to recommend the optimal size arena for the city to build to have a viable business model.

Barrett Sports Group recommended an arena that could seat between 8,500 9,500 people; had 12-15 luxury suites; had 350 to 400 Club Seats; and had 2,750 to 3,000 parking spaces. Their recommendation at that time for building premium seating inventory assumed an anchor minor league tenant.

Since that time, however, transportation options have changed with the growth of Uber and Lyft, etc. City officials now project the need for only 2,400 parking spaces.

Barrett Groups Report on Required Parking Spots

From the beginning of plans to build a new arena for Savannah, parking near the proposed arena was always envisioned to consist of surface parking lots on-site, adjacent to Stiles Avenue, and adjacent to Gwinnett Street.

In the Barrett Groups May 2016, they firm stated that the total parking needed for the maximum capacity of the arena was based on several assumptions: one space per three seats in the arena for attendees; 5% of attendees for an event using public transit options; 5% of attendees walking or biking; one space per twenty seats for employees w/2people in a vehicle; 13% of employees using public transit; and 7% of arena employees walking or biking to their job. In all, Barrett projected the need of 2,976 parking spaces for a successful arena.

Of the three lots planned for the immediate area adjacent to the arena, the main lot accesses from Stiles just north of the arena can accommodate 390 vehicles; The City employee lot on the south side of Gwinnett Street can accommodate approximately 190 spaces and the City property on the northwest corner of Stiles Avenue and Gwinnett St. can accommodate 340 vehicles for a total of 920 spaces; The nearby church parking lot has been estimated to potentially hold 200 parking spaces; and this leaves a deficit of approximately 1,856 parking spaces that will be needed for the arena.

To address the needed 1,856 parking spaces, they presented a number of options: Utilize adjacent City-owned and private properties for surface parking. With a parking deficit of 1,856 spaces and a parking yield of approximately 75 spaces per acre, it would require approximately 25 acres of property to accommodate the needed spaces, the Barrett report states.

The City owns approximately 27 acres of vacant property north of the arena, but there are wetlands on the property that would be impacted for the construction of surface

There is vacant private property east and south of the property that could be used for surface

Parking. Some of this property is contaminated and the balance is listed for sale. Further investigation would be required on the contaminated parcels, the Barrett Group states.

Option 2 was stated to be to build a six level parking deck on the proposed surface parking lot north of the arena, which would provide 1,856 spaces at a projected cost of $27,840,000, which is $15,000 per space.

Prices range from $13,000-$17,000/space and decrease with larger parking decks. Ingress and egress points to the parking deck would be significantly less than multiple parking

Option 3 was to use existing parking facilities in the downtown area with increased mass transit. The biggest advantage to this option is it is the most cost effective because existing

infrastructure is being utilized, but they added, There is currently a parking deficit in downtown Savannah, particularly the western portion. Remote parking facilities such as Hutchinson Island and lands to the west would be required to make up the deficit.

The City opted to build a parking garage that is designed to hold 2,000 cars, which puts them 900+ spaces short.

The Second Amendment to the Land Lease for the Arena Parking Lot was approved 5-4 with Mayor Pro-Tem Shabazz and Alderwomen Kesha GibsonCarter, Alicia Miller Blakely, and Bernetta Lanier voting no.

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May 31 Council Votes to Cut Costs of Surface Parking Lot Lease for New Arena, a Hot Topic at Thursday's Marathon City Council Meeting - Savannah...