New Hampstead
Savannah, GA
The New Hampstead Planned Unit Development is a 4,500-acre tract located just south of I-16, just west of I-95, and north of GA 204, which was originally owned by the International Paper Company (“IP”). In the early 2000’s, IP took the initiative to identify and develop those portions of its land holdings that had highest and best uses that differed from its standard timberland portfolio. IP concluded that the demographics and development potential for Savannah, GA were very strong. Its Real Estate Development Division then began immediate full-scale zoning, entitlement, and development of the full 4,500 acres. Combined, IP and the City of Savannah invested over $45 million on improvements and infrastructure on the Property. In 2006, the Property became fully entitled as a master-planned residential and commercial community known as the New Hampstead Planned Unit Development (“PUD”), which is depicted below.
The master plan for New Hampstead represents a Village Center surrounded by numerous residential tracts including multi-family, traditional neighborhood development (TND) and conventional neighborhoods. Complementing the village and residential uses, the PUD includes institutional parcels, a public park, school sites, municipal service sites and highway commercial sites. The plan is connected by a system of primary roads with a planned system of leisure trails for bicycles, golf carts and pedestrians. At full build-out, the New Hampstead PUD is permitted to consist of over 10,000 dwelling units that are allocated among the residential, mixed-use and multi-family districts.
The New Hampstead development is substantially complete with key infrastructure in place to support immediate land sales and building construction.
Recently, the Savannah Chatham County Public Schools opened a 1,200-student high school at New Hampstead. A new, adjacent, Middle School has also been announced and funded.
Significant industrial development may be found within a five-mile radius of the site including several public / private partnership sites and numerous private developments. Robust job creation is expected over the next five years as a result of growth around the New Hampstead PDD.
The expansion of the Port of Savannah led the Port Authority and state officials to find ways to improve port access and grow the state’s logistics industry. In December 2011, the Georgia Department of Transportation awarded a $73 million contract for the Jimmy Deloach Connector Project. The project is needed to provide faster truck movement into and out of the Port of Savannah from SR 21 and provide an alternate route to accommodate increasing truck traffic entering and exiting the Port of Savannah. Construction of the extension has already begun and is expected to be completed by the spring of 2020. This will provide direct connection from the town of Pooler, through New Hampstead, to Downtown Savannah.
Several tracts within the New Hampstead PUD have been sold to local and regional home builders, or commercial interests, with the remaining approximately 3,300 acres and 9,074 total dwelling units now owned by New Hampstead Holdings, LLC and its affiliates.
Of particular note is the substantial green-space and parkland created when one of ICM’s real estate funds placed an 863-acre portion of the property in a Conservation Easement (depicted in the exhibit below in green). This space will be used by the City of Savannah for active and passive park, and represents a significant expansion to the relatively modest 50-acre park originally planned.
ALH is actively developing the Property and has several parcels under contract or soon to be under contract with regional and national builders.