Written by Perrin Smith, Photos by Perrin Smith
There is an area of Savannah that goes commonly unnoticed. It’s an area steeped in history and culture right at the doorsteps of downtown. It sits right across the old railroad bridges that connect SCAD residential complexes, The Hive and Turner House, just beyond the slow waters of the canal next to Boundary Village and rests just beyond the ramps to the Atlantic Coastal Highway. Students and locals rarely venture there and businesses never open their doors there, but city planners hope that will soon change.
For the past 20 years, City of Savannah government officials have been creating a blueprint for what’s being called the single largest project in Savannah’s history: The new Canal District and the Savannah Arena. The new district will boast a public park nearly twice the size of Forsyth, complete with modern art, a canal restoration with a river walk similar to River Street and urban property rentals and restaurants. The arena will boast a maximum capacity of nearly 10,000 seats, an all-day restaurant and the ability to host larger acts than what is currently possible with the city’s aging Savannah Civic Center.
“The Canal District and Savannah Arena are really meant for the city of Savannah, but it’s being designed for young professionals.”
Bret Bell, Chief Operating Officer for the City of Savannah
The new park, which will be around twice the size of Forsyth, is going to display public art, something the city is hoping will get SCAD students involved.
The new Savannah Arena is meant to replace the current Savannah Civic Center on Oglethorpe Avenue. The new arena is meant to entice larger acts from skipping over Savannah for places like Jacksonville and Charleston. Featuring amenities of a modern event space, the new arena will boast the ability to manipulate the floorplan to host off-Broadway shows, franchised sports and will even have the ability to have year-round ice.
“We’re talking about an area that’s essentially a stone’s throw away from the Historic District and the downtown area,” Bell said. One of the main goals of the project is to create a space that will bridge the empty area between west Savannah and the downtown and create an area people will want to come to and explore.
Historically, the Canal District was the center of a vast industrial area for the city of Savannah, and the canals were used for shipping resources and products in and out of the city. The district used to be extremely important to Savannah, being a center of life in the city. Today, thousands of SCAD students walk across the canal as they enter and exit The Hive, the University’s sprawling residential complex.
“There used to be these party barges that would come down the canal playing live music,” Bell said. Though these days are long gone, the new Canal District and Savannah Arena is hoping to rejuvenate the culture that was once present here. The Savannah Arena is set to open for the first time in February 2022.
