Time to ask SEDA to deny the risky bond on Forsyth Park Garage. Click here for automatic email that can be edited on Action Network. Act now the meeting is Tuesday, October 14, at 906 Drayton Street. Public can attend but not participate. Thank you!
Sample Letter Below: Email to Angela Hendrix <ahendrix@seda.org>
Angela Hendrix,
Please share the following comment with Hugh Tollison, SEDA President and CEO; SEDA Board of Directors; and SEDA legal council Jonathan Pannell. Of concern is item B of SEDA's Board of Directors' agenda for October 14, 2025: bonds for Forsyth Park Garage.
Thank you.
RE: October 14, Agenda Item #B - Forsyth Park Garage Bond
Board of Directors for Savannah Economic Development Authority:
Please deny the bond for the Forsyth Park Garage due to the following:
• Community opposition and conflicts of interest: Over 1,400 petition signatures opposing the underground garage. The August 2025 Amended Development Agreement threatens a historic residential neighborhood. The public private partnership overwhelmingly favors the private developers.
• Flood zone risks ignored: The garage sits in a flood zone (confirmed by City Staff in Bilbo Basin 2020 report) but this critical fact is omitted from the Amended Agreement. This will increase construction costs and impose long-term maintenance burdens on taxpayers, with risks intensifying as sea levels rise—Savannah has sunk another inch since the Bilbo Basin study.
• Poor track record with similar structures: The City has failed to maintain the comparable 7 Whitaker Garage under Ellis Square, now requiring $600,000 in temporary repairs for structural cracks, plus failures with air silo fans exceeding 100 decibels, and rusting stairs. Forsyth shares Whitaker's design but adds flood-zone-risks affecting the entrance and two of three air silos.
• Questionable public benefit: Private office occupants will use most of the garage, making the public portion the minority and potentially violating IRS municipal bond requirements for favorable rates.
• Financial rating impact: These combined risks will likely become a negative factor in the rating agencies’ assessment of the credit quality of bonds issued by the City of Savannah and SEDA.
Thank you for your consideration and service to our community,
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