Town Center's Ben Carter Invests In Downtown Savannah

[vicupstate]

To those that say Jax is too suburban oriented to revive it's core, I say 'Indy, Nashville, Charlotte, Houston and numerous other cities did it.  I also say that prior to Delaney's term expiring, there was a very obvious emphasis on DT redevelopment and he had sky-high approval ratings.  There were lots of projects popping up and serious momentum was building.  Yes, the R.E. crash put a big damper on everything, but the crash happened everywhere, not just JAX.

As for Savannah, the tourists were there long before SCAD.  Yes, SCAD did and does have a HUGE impact, especially in certain blocks of the city. But the riverfront area was already prospering before they came. It is a generalization to give SCAD ALL the credit.  That said, they do deserve a large portion of the credit overall.       

[IrvAdams]

Coredumped is right - Savannah was in bad shape in a lot of ways and had a run-down reputation.  The combination of SCAD and an increased interest in historic city tourism seemed to spark its recovery.  Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil seemed to be one of the catalysts for the tourism interest.

"Midnight" is an excellent read. It does go into some of the detail of Savannah's turnaround. They were right on the edge of going the wrong way, with a spate of needless demolitions of historic structures, but a small group of dedicated individuals managed to stem the tide. And just look at them now; Savannah is such a great nearby vacation spot. I love their old historic fabric.

[jcjohnpaint]

http://folioweekly.com/HEY-CITY-COUNCIL-DONT-BE-SUCH-TIGHTWADS,10836

[blizz01]

Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil seemed to be one of the catalysts for the tourism interest.

^Interesting - I immediately thought of Forrest Gump, although the Bird Girl statue is arguably more iconic than the (bus stop) bench.