A Visit to Savannah and an Update on the Revitalisation of Nassau

by Larry Smith

"Mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get." - Forrest Gump

SAVANNAH, Georgia— Live oak and magnolia trees drape the historic squares of this 18th century town, whose cobbled streets and museum-quality buildings attract hordes of movie producers and millions of visitors from all over the world.

Greater Savannah is about the same size as Nassau, and it is a model of architectural preservation, restoration and adaptive reuse. But since this is still America, the park bench where Tom Hanks sat to deliver his opening lines in the movie Forrest Gump is one of the city's top visitor attractions.

Almost every gift shop offers copies of Clint Eastwood's 1997 film, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which portrays Savannah's eccentric Southern society through the lens of a celebrated murder trial. And tour guides will mention these cinematic novelties in the same breath as Savannah's actual history.

Founded in 1733 as a philanthropic project to help the English poor start a new life, Savannah was the original capital of Georgia - the last British colony to be established in North America. It also became home to one of the most important African American communities, giving rise to the first black church in the United States.

In fact, like Nassau, Savannah has had a majority black population throughout much of its history. Today it is governed by an African-American mayor named Otis Johnson, who was re-elected last year with 70 per cent of the vote, defeating five other candidates. Johnson has a PhD in social policy and is a former dean at Savannah State University.

The city is divided into four historic zones, including the 2.5-square-mile landmark district which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Walking its pleasant, tree-shaded streets is like stepping back in time. Old Salem in North Carolina or Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia are both meticulously restored museums, but Savannah is a living, breathing entity whose historic architecture is an intimate part of the contemporary business and residential ecosystem.

Here's a glimpse of the way the city promotes itself: "Hip and historic, Savannah is where you'll find amazing architecture, spooky cemeteries and rich history...It's where history resonates into the present day."

In other words, many of the assets we seem to devalue are touted as major tourist attractions in Savannah. And they generate a lot of business. Savannah has many more hotel rooms than Nassau, and the 6.7 million people who visited the city last year spent almost $2 billion - more than we earn annually from our entire national tourism industry.

Economic Impact
Back in 1965 - before restoration of the city began - the economic impact of tourism was minimal. Savannah's economy relied on its busy container port, paper factories and a huge military base, but tourism is the leading industry today. And according to the Visitors Bureau, historic preservation has been the driving force behind that growth.

The park bench made famous by Tom Hanks was situated on Chippewa Square - one of 24 public spaces that were laid out in a grid by the city's founders. According to the US National Trust for Historic Preservation, it was a design "so organised and comprehensive that although not one building remains of (the founder's) period, the whole today, largely a mid-nineteenth century city, reflects the spirit as well as the design of the 1733 plan."

In fact, Beth Reiter, who is director of preservation at the Municipal Planning Commission, told me that her agency's goal is to restore and maintain the city's original 1733 plan. Several advantages stem from this, including the fact that one of the guiding principles of the city's founder was a strict ban on lawyers.

But the real point is that, rather than acting as a drain on public finances or an imposition on commerce, historic preservation has become the city's economic lifeblood. Property values in the greater downtown area have increased from $38 million in the 1980s to more than $140 million today.

"One of the biggest issues we face is affordability," Reiter confirmed. "Properties in the landmark district are in the million dollar range these days, and we must be careful to avoid the economic dislocation of residents arising from this."

Reiter is a white Georgian, and she is considered the grand dame of historic preservation in Savannah. She points to the rise in property values as proof that history is good for business. Her father worked for the parks service and she started out with the Historic Savannah Foundation as a young architectural historian in the 1960s.

Turning Point
For Savannah, that decade was a turning point not only for the civil rights movement, but also in the struggle to prevent demolition of the city's rich but decaying heritage. The Foundation played a key role in convincing black and white citizens that the old buildings they wanted to turn into parking lots were a more valuable resource if they could be restored.

Today, the crumbling row houses have been converted into posh residences and shops, eclectic restaurants, tea rooms, pubs, art studios, museums, inns and theatres. And this list does not take into account all the buildings scattered across the city that have been restored and used for various reasons by the ubiquitous Savannah College of Art and Design.

Outlying neighbourhoods and suburbs have also benefited from the restoration drive. And in spite of the disenfranchisement of African Americans throughout much of Savannah's history, there is a high degree of buy-in to the idea of historic preservation, which may have something to do with the fact that the city was never heavily segregated.

"Savannah, indeed, had its shortcomings in race relations, but the city did not subscribe to Jim Crow housing." wrote history professor Whittington B. Johnson in a 1997 monograph. "In one of the city's leading business centres, 38 per cent of the inhabitants were African American....(and) the two largest black churches in Savannah...were located in (districts) which had white majorities."

The current chairman of the Historic Savannah Foundation is John Mitchell, an African American developer whose father was a railroad worker. "People want to see the real deal," he told me over a glass of lemonade in a 1940s-era garage now doing business as the chic Soho Cafe. "And saving old buildings puts a lot of money into the tax rolls.

"But more importantly," he added, "we are on this Earth for only a portion of the cycle of life and must act as stewards for future generations. We all need to have a sense of place and historic preservation ensures that."

Revolving Fund
Mitchell oversees a revolving fund that has saved blocks of buildings throughout the city over the years. The Foundation buys up endangered properties and sells to those who will restore them in accordance with specific covenants. In the 1990s, for example, only $170,000 invested in eight dilapidated structures generated the redevelopment of over $3 million worth of property in a dying neighborhood.

In Nassau, we seem to be at the same stage Savannah was in when citizens began to organise the successful restoration of their town back in the 60s. An inventory of historic buildings was undertaken and Savannah's downtown area was declared a national historic district in 1967. Strict zoning regulations and a public-private historic review board soon followed.

Beth Reiter's planning commission is today a powerful body which controls all visible changes to building facades in the city. It has researched and published extensive architectural guidelines for the historic districts, maintains public monuments, helps develop and apply legislation, and protects natural resources.

In Nassau, a register of historic buildings was started by the Bahamas National Trust decades ago and is supposed to be maintained by the Antiquities Corporation. But it is little more than an incomplete list of locations. Architect Jackson Burnside produced a set of guidelines for a Nassau historic district a few years back, but nothing has been done to implement them. Meanwhile, our priceless historical heritage continues to disappear as the city becomes more dysfunctional with each passing year.

Signs of Change
But there are signs of change, thanks to the efforts of a public-private sector task force that has been working on plans to revitalise the city of Nassau for the past decade. Perhaps most importantly, shipping interests have finally come together and are close to presenting a comprehensive plan to move the port out of the city - something that has been recommended by every study ever undertaken on downtown Nassau.

The government says it will take container trucks off Bay Street by year-end. Jackson Burnside has been retained as a consultant to drive the revitalization effort and intensive planning sessions are underway.

In the most recent budget, the City of Nassau Revitalization Act was introduced, offering financial incentives - including forgiveness from real property tax and exemption from Customs duties - for those investing in the city for the next five years. And private sector investment is beginning to flow.

According to Frank Comito (who has been closely involved in the process as an executive at the Nassau Tourism Development Board), a professional city manager is about to be hired to drive the redevelopment.

He said the experience of other cities, Savannah included, showed that the process takes time. And until a genuine public-private sector partnership is forged and an effective management structure in place, it is difficult to achieve change.

"What we are doing now is building on our foundational work - the Historic Nassau study, the EDAW report and the Ecorys port relocation study. Revitalization efforts in other cities took time. They were all subject to the same changes in politics and private sector pressures.

"And until they had the proper legislated structures in place to manage the process, they struggled. I'm extremely encouraged with what is happening today, but not naive enough to think that it will get any easier. It won't.

"We will continue to be faced with challenges as we move to transform the city. But the fantastic news is that we are at a new level of commitment and will see unprecedented acceleration. I'm convinced that there are enough of us now in the private and public sectors with a persistence and belief in what we can accomplish."

As we face these challenges we should think of Savannah, and the millions of visitors from throughout the world who enjoy walking its historic riverfront and its magnificent shaded squares. And as for ourselves, why just about anything is better than what we have now - even if lawyers are included.

Comments

[mudda nachur]

The number one reason to plant BIG shady trees!
http://www.epa.gov/hiri/about/index.html

[nicob]

Exactly, Larry. Don't even get me started.

We were in Savannah in 2000, and it's clear to me at least that the future of Nassau should lie along the same road.

We need to adjust our priorities, learn what tourists actually spend money on, and invest in those things long-term. Dredging the harbour to allow bigger cruise ships in is a smokescreen -- it'll boost our arrival figures, not our economy. Good for spin, and nothing much else.

[larry smith]

Investing in a bigger cruise port could boost our economy if we had a saleable product (like Savannah) instead of a refuse pile to entice passengers to spend money.

[Jacqueline R. Belcher]

Well done, as usual. A couple of photos of Savannah might add inspiration.

I'd forgotten that bit about lawyers being banned. Oh, if it was only so today!

I enjoyed our time together.

[C.Lowe]

Good article Larry, my daughter is attending SCAD there, it is an amazing college town, which adds youth to the equation.
She says she wants to stay and live there, so add one more Bahamian to the exodus.
I don't blame her.
By the way, if the Florida legislature decides to repeal the Sales tax exemption for exports, Savannah is where I'll be shipping from.
I'm sure they will appreciate the business and facilitate the Bahamas imports.

[grace dototoyo]

Thank you sir. I'm curious as to why there are some people, like William Wong, against moving the port to Arawak Cay? I like your articles because they offer a basis for and explanation of what The Bahamas has always stood for.... hope.

BTW... Midnight in the garden is based on a real person and true events.

[Jackson Burnside]

Your Savannah story painted exciting imagery even though I have never travelled there. While we share history, and have size in common, it seems to me that industry and sense of responsibility for their own destiny inspires cities, like Savannah, to revitalize their own environment.

It is interesting that you mentioned slaves and masters. "What does that have to do with it?" is the obvious question that must be examined. This is an aspect of our history that both black and whites in our society avoid discussing in depth and honestly. Our failure to know and respect all aspects of our heritage, good and bad, is what in my mind causes us to "devalue our assets".

For example, if we can see the value of spaces for public assembly (in our case, particularly the waterfront), we can begin to appreciate vwhat inspired Savannah to have more city squares than possibly any other North American city. That one feature of their city plan distinguishes Savannah and makes it unique. Imagine the potential beauty of our city, and entire island for that matter.

The glass is more than half-full, possibly even filling up. The keys are "management, maintenance and money" to quote Frank Comito. I would add convenience, security, and delight that draw people back into our city and make them want to spend time, walk about, and live there again.

Savannah made the commitment, to legislation and regulations, to facilitate investments by the people whose patrimony is represented by the history in the buildings, streets and parks within the city and the surrounding neighbouhoods. Nassau can do much of the same, not by copying the past, but learning from our ancestral heritage and maximizing the 21st century potential of our assets.

Emancipation will be in a few days. The question is, "Are we as Bahamians, emancipated?" Do we have a sense of responsibility and accountability for our own affairs, or are we still enslaved in our dependence on persons from outside to provide our social and economic salvation?