A dry cleaning business that halted the widening of West Bay Street two years ago when it was designated historic will be spared under a new Chatham County plan recently approved by the Federal Highway Administration.
Two other businesses across the street will be impacted by the project as a result of the redesign that avoids Marvel Cleaners. Bravo Foods, a distributor, will lose some of its parking and space for trucking operations, while the Alamo Plaza Motel will lose some of its front lawn.
Alamo owner Ramesh Patel said he supports the project and the loss of property will not be a hardship for his business.
“If they make the city look good, that is good for us too,” Patel said.
The manager for Bravo Foods declined to discuss the changes, and Marvel Cleaners’ owner could not be reached for comment.
Three other properties along the 1.2-mile stretch of Bay Street between West Lathrop and East Lathrop avenues also are eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. They include the Hudson Hill and the West Savannah historic districts, St. Anthony’s school and church and the Alamo motel.
The county has agreed to install historic markers along the road as part of the project. A study will be conducted to determine the content and location of the plaques, and the city of Savannah will be responsible for the landscape maintenance under an agreement approved by the county commission on Oct. 5.
The right-of-way process is expected to start before the end of the year, but it is expected to take two years to complete before construction can begin, said Chatham County engineer Leon Davenport.
“We have to start from square one,” Davenport said.
About a dozen property owners are expected to be displaced under the plan.
In September 2010, Marvel Cleaners was found to be eligible for preservation by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources after the business was considered non-historic in an earlier county study. The reversal came after the state discovered some replaced windows were mistakenly deemed ineligible, when they actually met the threshold of being more than 50 years old.
By that time, the county had already spent about $200,000 in sales tax funds to pay for the appraisals. Another $860,000 contract was awarded for revised right of way and construction plans.
The project will connect the existing four-lane divided section at the west end with the existing five-lane undivided section on the east side. The plan includes a raised median, turn lanes, sidewalks and improved crosswalks.