Current Market Conditions
 
 

Metropolitan Savannah Market-Fourth Quarter 2006

 

 
 


The metropolitan Savannah region, which effectively consists of five counties and 500,000 residents, continues to experience vibrant growth which is primarily centered around the Interstate 95 and Interstate 16 corridors in West Chatham County. This well-balanced expansion is a function of a diversified economy based on Savannah’s deep-water container port, the massive military infrastructure at Hunter Army Airfield and Fort Stewart, the I-95 corridor which accommodates 13,000,000 vehicles per year, the manufacturing sector, and an extraordinary transportation infrastructure. Chatham County’s Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax and the planning of the Chatham Urban Transportation System have fostered a “state-of-the-art” road system in West Chatham County.

The Savannah Metro area is strategically located near the epicenter of the I-95 corridor between Wilmington, North Carolina and South Florida along which millions of baby boomers will pre-retire and retire over the next twenty years. West Chatham County has an extraordinary inventory of planned-unit-developments on line to accommodate this future growth. This growth has been enhanced by the J-Factor or Boomerang effect of recent retirees in Florida relocating to the Low Country region.

Godley Station

The 5,800-acre PUD initiated by Branigar / UnionCamp / International Paper, has rapidly evolved into one of Savannah’s preferred communities in which to "live, work and play." Godley Station’s strategic location, strong regional draw and carefully executed Master Plan have spurred a number of successful end-developments.

  • Significant regional retail growth at Mill Creek anchored by Home Depot, Wal-Mart Supercenter, and the October 2006 opening of the a Sam’s Wholesale Club, and a wide array of banks, restaurants, and freestanding retail uses.  The Feiler Company and Goodman Company have announced the development of a power center on the 117-acre Towne Center site located at the Northwest corner of Benton Boulevard and Pooler Parkway.

  • Continued absorption of single-family residences within Towne Lake Village and the Villages of Godley Station where over 400 home sales were reported in 2005.

  • The development of two Class A apartment communities including the 380 units at The Preserve and the recently completed 312-unit Merritt project.

  • The donation of a 100-acre park site to the Town of Pooler and the 48-acre site of the YMCA which now has 5,300 members and a state-of-the-art daycare center.

  • The Medical Campus at Godley Station which is anchored by an urgent care facility, multi-tenant medical office building, pharmacy and number of doctors’ offices.

  • The continued build-out of the Pooler Park of Commerce including a restaurant, veterinary’s office, mini-storage facility and office buildings.

Mulberry Realty Holdings, LLC has completed the 54,000 square foot Class A office building behind Wal-Mart Supercenter and Home Depot. Choate Construction Company and First National Bank are slated to occupy the anchor spaces in November of 2006. BB&T is scheduled to open its West Chatham branch in the Mulberry Office Park in December of 2006. Embassy Suites is scheduled to break ground on its seven story, 250-room hotel before the end of 2006.

The Highlands

The Highlands consists of 2,800 acres of the former North Godley Tract located at I-95 and Jimmy Deloach Parkway. In December of 2002, International Paper Realty sold this tract to a partnership comprised of Godley Station Ventures, LLC and The Foxfield Company. The 1.1 mile extension of Jimmy Deloach Parkway to the entrance of The Highlands is completed. Additionally, GDOT recently announced that Burns Parkway will be extended from the northern terminus of Benton Boulevard into central Effingham County up to Blue Jay Road over the next seven to eight years.

The residential portion of The Highlands is planned and approved for 4,639 single-family residences. The internal spine road is complete and eight of the thirteen development parcels are currently under development by local and national homebuilders. Homes are currently in the $150,000 to $400,000 price range.

Within the mixed-use portion of the Highlands project, Paradise Development has purchased a thirty-acre tract located at the Northeast corner of the intersection of Benton Boulevard and Jimmy Deloach Parkway for development of a neighborhood shopping center to be anchored by a grocery store. The Beach Company has also acquired a Class A apartment site. Development Associates, Inc. has commenced development of Highlands Business Park, a 120-acre business park located at the intersection of Benton Boulevard and Highlands Boulevard.

The Highlands has a unique educational profile. The developers have donated elementary and middle school sites to the Savannah/Chatham County Board of Education. Chatham County voters passed the ESPLOST (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education) in September of 2006 which will provide funding for the elementary, middle and high schools. The successful implementation of this tri-level school system together with Savannah Tech’s regional campus and Georgia Tech’s Regional Engineering Program at Crossroads Business Center should serve as a catalyst for attracting high-tech oriented businesses and corporations into West Chatham County.

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The Morgan Tract

The Morgan Tract is comprised of a 1,300-acre planned-unit-development located along Pooler Parkway between US 80 and Pine Barren Road, approximately one mile north of the I-16/Pooler Parkway Interchange. This project features single and multi-family residential tracts and two commercial sites containing 58 acres and located at the northeast and northwest corners of Pooler Parkway and Pine Barren Road.

The Pooler elementary and middle schools border the eastern boundary of this development. Given its proximity to Savannah’s deepwater container port, I-16 and I-95, and Chatham County’s Economic Development Site, the Morgan Tract is an excellent location for light-industrial and distribution oriented businesses. The developer has sold two commercial tracts at the northeast and northwest corners of Pine Barren Road and Pooler Parkway along with acreage to be developed as Morgan Pines with 221 single-family homes. As a result of its central location and well balanced master plan, the Morgan Tract is experiencing accelerated absorption. Commonwealth Properties has acquired a 150-acre tract for development as a light industrial/distribution park and several light industrial project announcements should be forthcoming in the fourth quarter of 2006. Discussions are underway with Wal-Mart and Lowes on the Armstrong Tract located at the Southeast corner of the intersection of Pine Barren Road and Pooler Parkway.

Medallist Developments’ Savannah Quarters is a 2,600-acre planned-unit-development located at the southeastern and southwestern quadrants of Interstate 16 and Quacco Road. The Robert Cupp championship golf course and the proposed pedestrian retail village are the centerpieces of this community. Medallist Developments recently completed the reconstruction of the golf course and broke ground on the multi-function clubhouse. This community is relatively high-end for West Chatham County with lots priced at $90,000 to $250,000, villas at $250,000 to $350,000 and single-family residences from $350,000 to above $1,000,000. Savannah Quarters has attracted several national homebuilders and the anticipated absorption is projected by the developer at fifty to seventy-five lots per year going forward.

Berwick Plantation

iBerwick Plantation is a 1,200-acre planned-unit-development of Branigar/Union Camp/International Paper Realty located on US Highway 17 South between Dean Forest Road and Quacco Road. This Master Development is zoned for 3,373 residential units and up to 800,000 square feet of commercial/retail/office development. Multiple single-family-residential pods have been sold to a series of homebuilders and are slated for a variety of architectural styles, lot sizes and price points. Many of Savannah’s premier homebuilders are building at Berwick Plantation including Buoy Brothers, Genesis Designer Homes, Hallmark Homes, Konter Homes, J C Wardlaw Construction and Southbridge Development. There is a 53.8-acre multi-family site at the project’s entrance zoned for 648 apartments. The 80-acre commercial site is under option to Realti-Corp which recently announced the grand opening of a 75,000 square foot Kroger at Berwick’s entrance. Berwick Plantation has established a record for Chatham County in terms of the absorption of development parcels within a planned-unit-development..

Crossroads Business Center, the 1,873 acre development of the Savannah Economic Development Authority, continues to attract mammoth distribution facilities for a number of national retailers to include Dollar Tree, Home Depot, Pier I and Wal-Mart. Crossroads is approximately 60 % built-out of its estimated 7,800,000 square feet of light industrial/distribution space and has an estimated 1,700 employees.

We anticipate a continued, sustained growth rate for projects in West Chatham County as a result of new employees moving into the area, the relocation of residents within Chatham County to the Westside, and the reverse migration of residents in Bryan and Effingham Counties back into West Chatham County. Several projects are on the drawing board including:

Rice Hope

 
Rice Hope, Sivica Communities has broken ground on this 750-acre master development which is zoned for 4,500 residential units and located at the intersection of I-95 and S.R. 21. This traditional neighborhood development will feature six neighborhoods and an extensive amenity package to include a twenty-acre activity center with a pool and waterfalls, a twenty-seven acre lake and extensive trail system.

New Hampstead

International Paper Realty has positioned this 4,050-acre tract located on both sides of Little Neck Road between I-16 and SR 204 for master development and parcel sales. It is approved for 11,275 residential units and 130-acres of commercial development with an estimated 25,000 residents at build-out.
  

To date, IP Realty has closed on five single family land tracts comprising 1,262 acres allocated for 4,203 dwelling units. IP Realty is reportedly under contract on 7 additional single-family residential tracts comprising 982 acres and allocated for 3,490 dwelling units. The projected build-out for New Hampstead is twenty years.

Barring any unforeseen changes in macro economic conditions and/or dramatic upward spikes in interest rates, West Chatham County should continue to experience strong demand as a preferred place for residents to “live, work and play” within the metro Savannah area. A number of economic development initiatives currently underway could significantly accelerate this growth rate, such as the eventual development of the Mega-site located in the Northeast Quadrant of I-95 and I-16. Additionally, the continued dramatic growth of Savannah’s deep-water container port should result in increasing demand for distribution and warehouse facilities over the next ten years.