SAVANNAH AGENDA: PROPERTY MATTERS

By Eric Curl savannahagenda.com

NONPROFIT’S PLANS FOR CUYLER-BROWNVILLE GET GO AHEAD FROM CITY

The Galvan Foundation plans to get started early this year with the development of single-family houses on three vacant lots on Lavinia Street, after the Savannah City Council approved the New York nonprofit’s plans last month to acquire city properties and build housing in Cuyler-Brownville.

The Land Bank Authority will first need to approve the sale after the properties are transferred from the city. Galvan’s plans will also need approval from the Historic Preservation Commission since CuylerBrownville has been designated a local historic district.

Galvan intends to develop the properties in accordance with the Land Bank Authority’s affordability guidelines by including a combination of housing for people earning up to 80% of the average median income (AMI) and households earning up to 120% of the AMI, according to Galvan’s treasurer, Dan Kent.

“These are both projects and programs that are structured to be affordable to lower income residents and be affordable for people with housing choice vouchers, which we know is a challenge in Savannah for people to even find a place that will accept a voucher,” Kent said.

The nonprofit is not limiting its development activity to housing or the city owned properties.

Galvan has already acquired one CuylerBrownville property, a fire damaged house built in 1901 that has been vacant for more than two decades. Kent said the nonprofit intends to restore the historic building at 2205 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, but has not yet determined what they will do with the adjacent vacant lot that was part of the purchase from the Historic Savannah Foundation.

“We’re interested in having an impact on the neighborhood as a whole,” Kent said. “That includes housing development, but it also includes development of community facilities and anything else that folks see as a need in the neighborhood.”

Kiah House Structural Evaluation Underway Says New Owner

After purchasing the Kiah House in April, the Historic Savannah Foundation put a temporary roof over the deteriorating structure in September to keep it dry during the hurricane season, according to Ryan Jarles, HSF’s Director of Preservation and Historic Properties. HSF also had an engineer evaluate the property to determine what is wrong with the structure, Jarles said in December. In addition, they are working to get the property listed on the National Register of Historic Places, which will open the door for grant opportunities and tax credits to help restore the structure, he said. Built in 1915, the house at 505 W. 36th St. in historic Cuyler-Brownville was