From: EShabazz@Savannahga.

Gov
To: kalifamadeena@yahoo.com
Cc: EShabazz@Savannahga.Gov
Subject: Fwd: Fairgrounds Development Update
Date: Sunday, July 4, 2021 12:30:33 PM

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Subject: Re: Fairgrounds Development Update

Happy 4th of July Weekend All:

We have announced open house-style meetings to allow residents to review
the three Fairground development proposals and provide feedback.
The meetings will be held on:
Tuesday, July 13, at the Fairgrounds property (4701 Meding Street) and
Wednesday, July 14, at the Savannah Civic Center (301 W Oglethorpe
Avenue).
Both meetings will be held from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Residents can drop in
at anytime.
The proposals will be presented to the Savannah City Council on Thursday,
July 15.
We hope you can attend one of the sessions.

From: Mayor Johnson

Sent: Friday, June 18, 2021 4:49 PM
To: Mayor Johnson (VJohnson01@Savannahga.Gov) <VJohnson01@Savannahga.Gov>
Cc: Estella Edwards Shabazz <EShabazz@Savannahga.Gov>; 'Mayor Van R. Johnson, II'
<mayorjohnsonsav@gmail.com>; Michael Brown <michael.brown@Savannahga.Gov>; Marty
Johnston <MJohnston01@Savannahga.Gov>
Subject: Fairgrounds Development Update

Hello 5th District Leaders,

Thank you so much for your patience during this process. Admittedly, it has taken a long time, but as
I am sure that you can understand, this uniqueness of this project combined with the pandemic has
extended the time period.

As someone that fiercely advocated for the purchase of the Fairground property for more than the
value of the property, I still believe that this is a great opportunity for less intrusive, more
community friendly for residential and recreational uses that would complement the surrounding
neighborhoods and reconnect the Tatemville neighborhood to its neighbors to the east.

It was important enough for us to commit to an unusual and unconventional process that allowed
our citizens to view the proposals before the Council viewed them. Given the significance of this
large project, we agreed to do so. That being said, there are procedures within our procurement
ordinances that must and will be followed, which includes the scoring and ranking of the proposals
by City staff, the evaluation of the financial aspects of the proposals and a recommendation to
Council from the City Manager based on his assessment of these factors.

While this is a project in a neighborhood, the funding for this project comes from the entire City;
therefore, we will create opportunities for the adjacent neighborhoods and the entire City to learn
about this project.

The email/letter chain below over the past few months documents my consistent commitment to
you:

1. We will hold two community sessions for the surrounding neighbors and the City to view the
proposals
2. The City Council will then view the proposals
3. The City Manager will provide his technical and financial ranking of the proposals and make a
recommendation to the City Council
4. The City Council will make a decision

Alderwoman Shabazz and I will be announcing the schedule in the coming days and, as always, we
will keep you informed.

Van
Van R. Johnson, II
Mayor
City of Savannah, GA
2 East Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401
MayorJohnson@savannahga.gov
(912) 651-6444

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 28, 2021

Dr. Harris,

I am well and I trust that you are also.

I have received your letter of April 21, 2021. For my reply, I simply reference my email to 5th
District leaders on April 7th, 2021, which provides not only our position but the process that we are
currently engaged in, which remains unchanged, which ensures quality, responsibility and
transparency.

Simply put, to ensure the protection of the Feiler Park neighborhood, the developers must meet all
the City’s development standards, including but not limited to stormwater and drainage, wetland
protection, floodplain mitigation, utilities protection, soil conditions and foundations, traffic and
access, parking, zoning, and site planning.

The developers are also expected to meet additional City development expectations including issues
such as enhancing the wetlands, improving drainage in the Springfield drainage basin, providing
connectivity and open space adjacent to Tatemville Park, and providing open space and buffering for
the neighborhoods.

The developers were asked to revise their own development proposals and we have agreed that the
developers will receive 60 days to submit their revised proposals. They will submit these revised
proposals to the City Manager through the Purchasing Department.

At that time, the City Manager and staff will review developers’ proposals and ensure compliance
with all requirements and expectations. We will then hold public sessions for the entire community
to review the proposals. The proposals will be then presented to the City Council. The City Manager
will make a recommendation will be to the Mayor and Aldermen to accept one of the proposals
based on which proposal best presents viable and feasible uses of the Fairgrounds with the greatest
return to the City plus quantifiable community and social benefits. This determination will also
consider the developers’ proposed purchase price for the transferred property.

Any additional questions should be forwarded to the City Manager.

Thank you for your interest.

Van
Van R. Johnson, II
Mayor
City of Savannah, GA
2 East Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401
MayorJohnson@savannahga.gov
(912) 651-6444

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
April 7, 2021
Hello Leaders,

As you are aware, we expected to publicly present the 3 proposals for the
Fairgrounds development during the first week in April.
The private firms seeking to develop the Fairgrounds site have received a
document with requirements for “Best and Final” development proposals. This
revised document was prepared with input and consultations from the firms
themselves so that they can understand the City’s intentions and concur with
the timing of responses.

The first purpose of this revised document is to ensure that the developers meet
all the City’s development standards. These include but are not limited to
stormwater and drainage, wetland protection, floodplain mitigation, utilities
protection, soil conditions and foundations, traffic and access, parking, zoning,
and site planning.
The developers were also given additional information about the City’s
development expectations including issues such as enhancing the wetlands,
improving drainage in the Springfield drainage basin, providing connectivity
and open space adjacent to Tatemville Park, and providing open space and
buffering for the neighborhoods. The developers have been given flexibility in
meeting these expectations; however, these expectations will be a critical part
of any transformational development at the site.
The next step is for the developers to revise their own development proposals
to meet these requirements and compulsories. Developers were asked the
amount of time that would be needed to make these changes, and we have
agreed that the developers will receive 60 days to submit their revised
proposals. (Some of the development teams were seeking 90 days.)
Developers will now be given time to modify their proposals and present
transformational redevelopment of the site. They will submit these revised
proposals to the City Manager through the Purchasing Department.

At that time, the City Manager and staff will review developers’ proposals and
ensure compliance with all requirements and expectations. We will then
determine which proposal best presents viable and feasible uses of the
Fairgrounds with the greatest return to the City plus quantifiable community
and social benefits. This determination will also consider the developers’
proposed purchase price for the transferred property. Based on this evaluation,
a recommendation will be to the Mayor and Aldermen and we will move
forward with neighborhood and public input as we committed.

I will keep you informed

Van
Van R. Johnson, II
Mayor
City of Savannah, GA
2 East Bay Street
Savannah, GA 31401
MayorJohnson@savannahga.gov
(912) 651-6444

March 1, 2021

I trust that you are doing well and being safe.

I want to personally update you on the status and progress of the development of the
Fairgrounds property.

As you are probably aware, we have received three (3) proposals that are currently being
reviewed and vetted by the City Manager’s Office. The City Manager is charged with
making sure that all development proposals are consistent with federal, state and local
standards and that the surrounding neighborhoods are not adversely affected by
development. Consistent with our direction to the City Manager in October, we expect
to have them presented to the public by the first week in April.

Please be assured that I am absolutely dedicated to ensuring two things: that the project
is appropriately developed and consistent with the reasons that the City purchased the
property in the first place and that we protect the surrounding neighborhoods and the
things that are important to you – quality of life, traffic, drainage among other things.

It is important, it is imperative that we get this project right. You deserve that.

Sincerely,

Van R. Johnson, II
Mayor