Savannah bus center may affect historic status

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Posted 8:20AM on Monday, March 4, 2002

SAVANNAH - The designation of Savannah's downtown as a national historic district has been called into question after a federal official sided with residents opposed to a bus center the county wants to build on a downtown corner. The National Park Service's southeast chief of the National Register Programs Division ruled last month that Savannah's landmark status was ``threatened and endangered'' by the project. In a letter to Mayor Floyd Adams, Cecil McKithan, the agency official, said the bus center would have an adverse impact on the 2.1 square-mile historic district, the nation's largest. The fight concerns a $10 million bus-transfer complex Chatham County wants to build near Elbert Square. The block-long center would be an indoor transfer point for riders who now change buses outdoors and include transit offices, retail space and parking. The loss of the national register status would make the city ineligible for some federal grants. It also would remove a powerful marketing tool, particularly for a city whose economy relies on its moss-draped squares to draw millions of tourists a year. County officials, who already have spent $600,000 on the project, were stunned by a decision they say was based on faulty information provided by project opponents organized as the Elbert Square Alliance. ``It's a little farfetched for me to see how we're putting the historic district in danger,'' said Scott Lansing, executive director of Chatham Area Transit. ``We're building in such a way as to enhance the original city plan.'' County Commission Chairman Billy Hair, who doubles as chairman of the transit authority board, said McKithan's ruling would not halt plans. ``We intend to proceed,'' Hair said. ``Apparently, this gentleman was given some wrong information by the group that wants to stop the project. We believe this gentleman was in error and we intend to prove it.'' Adams also said he's not yet concerned about the designation because he thinks McKithan doesn't have a complete understanding of the project. McKithan said he made the decision based on the need for immediate action. ``My whole purpose was to get some dialogue going,'' he told the Savannah Morning News in Sunday's edition. ``I'm not taking any sides here. My objective is for the integrity of the district.'' It is unclear how McKithan's ruling might affect $8 million in federal funds earmarked for the transfer station. The county and state are also contributing to the $10 million project. The bus center has won approval from the transit authority board and Metropolitan Planning Commission. In December, the Historic Review Board said the project met guidelines for height and mass. Planners hope to take their finished design to the board in April for final design approval. Opponents have said they will sue to block the project if necessary.