SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Plans to close down parts of York Street to continue repairs to the Federal Courthouse following last month’s floor collapse, have some business owners in the area concerned.
Work to repair the floor collapse is set to take roughly four weeks, adding on now to the overall timeline for the courthouse repairs.
As part of this process, a crane will need to be brought in, closing down York Street between Whitaker and Bull.
This has Michael Higgins, the co-owner of the Wright Square Bistro worried that he could lose out on customers during a crucial time.
“We are three days out from Memorial Day weekend, which is one of the largest weekends for business and we want to know how our business is going to be impacted,” says Higgins.
He says many of his questions regarding the courthouse have gone unanswered, blaming a lack of communication with businesses from the parties involved.
“We have not been brought into this, there’s been zero communication, which I think is patently unfair to small businesses in this city,” Higgins said.
The latest closure is set to happen the first week of June, a time when Higgins says, they can’t afford to lose any business.
“That weekend could be devastating, that SCAD graduation weekend, we have literally thousands of parents coming in and frankly we’re one of the favorite spots for SCAD students, and our streets going to be closed, no ones taken that into account,” says Higgins.
Now Higgins says he’s also concerned this setback has impacted the project’s end date.
“When this started, we were implicitly promised that it would be over with before St. Patrick’s Day since it is the 200th anniversary and it’s one of our largest business days of the year, and now I don’t see how they could possibly have it done,” Higgins said.
Higgins, says aside from business impacts, his main concern is a lack of communication with business owners regarding closures, setbacks and other major updates.
This is a federal project so the City of Savannah is in no way involved with the courthouse repairs – but the city is overseeing and approving these closures, and Higgins says he would like to hear more from them on that front.