The City of Savannah has been awarded a $2.5 million OneGeorgia Rural Workforce Housing Initiative grant from the State of Georgia to make sanitary sewer infrastructure improvements necessary to develop the 66-acre tract of land at 4801 Meding St.  

The City of Savannah is in the final stages of a development agreement with P3JVG, LLC to transform the former fairgrounds property into a proposed mixed-use development that includes providing quality affordable housing. The development agreement is expected to be considered at the April 25 City Council meeting.  

“As I said at the end of the last Council term, the first 100 days of this new term would be committed to making big decisions and forward action,” Mayor Van R. Johnson, II said. “For years now we have been working diligently to transform the former fairgrounds property into affordable housing. This grant is a big step in the right direction and will help us fulfill our promise to the residents for use of this property and we are grateful for the State’s investment in our City.” 

The overall project is expected to include an estimated 400 housing units, film and sound studio facilities, a creative workforce innovation center, neighborhood commercial uses, parks, sports fields and courts, a nature preserve and more. P3JVG will develop 30 new single-family homes to qualified home buyers and 20 townhomes in the first phase that is also associated with the OneGeorgia grant award.

“Team Savannah, alongside our community partners, especially those in the 5th District, has been hard at work on a transformational community project at the fairgrounds site, which includes much-needed new housing that working families and senior citizens can afford,” City Manager Joseph A. “Jay” Melder said. “This grant ensures we can maximize local investments into housing and other community needs, while the State helps pay for the water and sewer infrastructure needed to support the project. We thank the Governor and the Department of Community Affairs for recognizing and supporting the work we are doing here to tackle our city’s housing needs.”

 The grant awarded to the City of Savannah was part of the third round of grant recipients announced by Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp on Wednesday. The Rural Workforce Housing Initiative focused more than $6.3 million towards infrastructure development statewide.  

Recipients of the grant met the OneGeorgia Authority requirements and demonstrated strong collaboration between the affected communities and real estate developers. The initiative, announced in 2023, was designed to help spur development of critically needed workforce housing in communities across the state.