By Shannon Craig
A majority of the Savannah City Council approved the beginning of Phase I in the cruise ship terminal staging area study on Oct. 6. The entire study is to be completed in three phases and is estimated to cost approximately $279,500.
Phase I, the most expensive of the phases, will cost around $197,500.
With this approval comes the finalized decision that BEA Architects will be the company carrying out Phase I of the study.
BEA Architects, an architectural firm based in Miami, Fla., specializes in “educational facilities, especially college campuses, as well as passenger terminals, particularly for cruise and ferry.”
Alderman Tom Bordeaux, the sole council member who voted against the study, questioned the validity of hiring BEA to conduct the study, knowing full well that the firm builds berthing stations for cruise ships in coastal areas across the country.
“I wonder if there were a conflict of interest there,” Bordeaux asked during the public hearing.
Mary Ellen Sprague, alderman of district 4, also expressed concern.
“When it comes to the terminal, I don’t think we have enough information to move along with it.”
Prior to the council meeting, BEA presented information from past successful projects, mentioning but not expanding on the gateway built for San Diego in 2008.
Will Savannah become San Diego?
According to the port records of San Diego, an $8 million loan was accepted by the port from Carnival Cruise Lines in 2005. At that time, the cruise line hoped to build a temporary tent facility to “accommodate overflow cruise ship traffic.” The facility was to be located on the Broadway Street Pier.
Once a thriving public pier, Broadway Street’s situation has only been worsening with a faltering economy, the constant fluctuation of fuel prices, and the growing fear of tourist related violence in Mexico. The development and completion of the terminal has attracted wedding receptions, car shows, even a beer festival akin to Savannah’s own, but has attracted only three cruise ships.
Carnival not included.
In a January 13 article published by the San Diego Union-Tribune, Carnival announced that it would be pulling its ships out of San Diego, leaving the Broadway Street Pier with an empty terminal. Not to mention a great deal of angry citizens.
“The port has been trying to turn the area around the bay into a Disneyland for visitors,” said Janet Shelton in an article for the “Voice of San Diego.” “While systematically excluding the general public from its projects and plans… Carnival should have never been allowed there.”
BEA conducted the viability study of the port.
Concerned Savannahians
Marty Brown is a resident of the Historic District and finds the approval of the study “unsettling.”
“I don’t know about you,” Brown stated to the council, “but $280,000 is a lot of money to me.” Like Shelton, Brown explained that “the Historic District is a home for people, not a theme park.”
Mayor Edna Jackson urged that citizens like Brown not be alarmed just yet , saying “We need to keep this in perspective. This is just a study to see if this is a viable option.”
So is the gamble worth $197,500? Are the odds favorable?
These questions will be answered by BEA in the coming months.
