Yamacraw Village residents frustrated as demolition talks stall, Savannah mayor says

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said Tuesday that residents of Yamacraw Village are growing increasingly frustrated as negotiations over the future demolition and redevelopment of the public housing community remain stalled.

Officials say the project still needs a federal approval step before it can move forward.

Before any major redevelopment can proceed, the plan must receive approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

While the city and stakeholders wait for that federal “stamp of approval,” local negotiations in Savannah have stalled.

The Yamacraw Residents Council and the Savannah Housing Authority have ceased negotiations, according to the council’s attorney.

Attorney David Hamburger with the Georgia Legal Services Program, who represents the residents council, said the two sides have been able to reach agreement on major issues—such as how to handle residents who would be displaced and how they would be brought back once Yamacraw is redeveloped.

Hamburger said the council has repeatedly asked for those agreements to be made legally binding, including consequences if the housing authority does not follow through.

The Savannah Housing Authority released a statement Monday saying it stepped away from negotiations due to changing demands from the residents council. Hamburger disputed that claim, saying the council’s demands have not changed.

At his weekly news conference, Mayor Johnson said he has been working with both sides and emphasized that residents are worn down by the prolonged process.

“While Mr. Hamburger can get up and flail and pontificate, these are residents that have to live there, and these are residents who are ready to move on and the longer it takes, the more units that fall into blight,” Johnson said.

As negotiations continue, the number of occupied units at Yamacraw Village has dropped sharply.

The community is designed to hold more than 300 units, but fewer than 90 remain from being boarded up, according to information shared in the update.

The remaining vacant buildings will continue to sit unused until HUD responds and an agreement is reached between the housing authority and the residents council.

WTOC reached out to the Savannah Housing Authority to ask what specific “changing demands” it referenced and why it backed out of negotiations. The authority had not responded as of publication.