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Some Yamacraw Village residents get a right to return under a new housing agreement, if they stay eligible
Yamacraw's redevelopment took years to reach this agreement
- 2019A Capital Needs Assessment finds living conditions have deteriorated.
- 2020Discussions about Yamacraw's future get underway.
- Aug. 2025The Housing Authority submits its demolition application.
- Oct. 29The Housing Authority and Residents Council announce an agreement.
Source: The Current
If you've followed Yamacraw Village's future, here's what changed: the Housing Authority of Savannah and the Yamacraw Resident Council reached an agreement Thursday, according to a joint press release. It guarantees at least 100 income-based units in the new development, and eligible residents get the right to return.
Current residents will relocate while crews build. The Housing Authority will help cover moving costs, security and utility deposits and transportation, and each household gets a relocation specialist.
- Dates: none yet for moves, demolition or construction
- Still pending: HUD approval of the Section 18 demolition application
- Updates: Residents Council hears from the Housing Authority every six months
“And it's not the ceiling, it's the floor.”
Dr. Jesseca Lightbourne, Housing Authority director of real estate development and preservation
Yamacraw's agreement comes after decades of decline
- At least 100
- income-based units promised in the new development
- $40 million
- in capital improvements a 2019 assessment said Yamacraw needed
- 3,000
- residents displaced by federal slum clearances
Sources: WJCL, The Current
