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Grant helps Sawmill Plaza makeover
Sawmill Plaza After Renovations
The Sawmill Plaza on Ford Avenue in Richmond Hill is sporting a new facade and other renovations thanks in part to a low-interest loan from the Georgia Cities Foundation. - photo by Photo provided.

The Sawmill Plaza in Richmond Hill now has a new look thanks to owners Steve and Vickie Myers of Richmond Hill, who recently transformed the building with the help of the Georgia Cities Foundation.
The GCF provided a $250,000 to the Development Authority of Bryan County in November 2011 for the project, according to a release from the Development Authority, who also made a simultaneous loan to Sawmill Plaza LLC, the project’s developer. The projects total cost was $870,000.
The Myers, owners of Sawmill Plaza LLC, often drove past the aging shopping center and imagined the possibilities for redevelopment.
“The shopping center wasn’t even for sale but a Realtor friend of ours negotiated a purchase price and the sales transaction for us,” explained Vickie Myers. “It was over 25 years old when we bought it. The plaza never had any renovations and was run down.”
The Myers first focused their energy on a Laundromat, Sweet Water Wash, located in the shopping plaza. The couple bought the business and as they prepared for renovations, an equipment supplier told them about the GCF’s Green Communities Fund.
“Through the Green Communities Fund, we learned about the Georgia Cities Foundation’s low-interest loans for commercial development,” Vickie Myers said. “We were very excited to learn about the financing opportunities. We were going to wait and save some money to begin the renovations, but the low-interest loan made the project affordable to start immediately.”
The Myers first used the proceeds from the Green Communities Fund loan to install high efficiency washers and dryers.
“We had a wonderful response to the Laundromat upgrades,” she said, adding that as soon as those renovations were complete, they began work on the plaza’s exterior.
“We put in a beautiful new stucco façade on the building, new awnings, sidewalks, windows, doors and upgrades to make the facility more energy efficient,” she said. “We also re-did the parking lot, which was in dangerous condition. It had never been redone and was full of holes, and we added new landscaping. I can’t leave my house without people telling me how thrilled they are about the renovation.”
One of those thrilled people is Richmond Hill Mayor Fowler.
“The Sawmill Plaza redo is beautiful,” he said. “Everyone has spoken favorably about it. We don’t have a traditional business historic downtown here in Richmond Hill, so the area where the shopping center is located is our main business district. We appreciate the owners coming in and taking initiative to go about doing this. It looks great.”
Myers also said the plaza’s tenants have reported an increase in business since the renovation.
Steve Croy, chairman of the Development Authority of Bryan County, said the authority plans to use the Sawmill redevelopment success as a tool in recruiting new business owners and additional redevelopment to the city and the county.
 “We are very pleased with this project,” he said. “The renovations really enhance that property.”
GCF Managing Director Perry Hiott said GCF is pleased to have been a part of the Myers’ successful efforts “to transform the shopping plaza to an appealing location for both shoppers and business owners.”
Since 2002, GCF has provided loans totaling more than $13.1 million for 75 projects in 41 cities across the state, generating more than $70 million in new private investment.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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