Water Works Facilities Feasibility Study

This report seeks to identify feasible uses for the historic Water Works Pump House (Water Works) building located adjacent to the new Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. It considers the potential for redeveloping the building into a multiuse facility that includes a year-round farmers market, a food hall, and a business incubator. This analysis was prepared for the City of Savannah by the Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research (CBAER) at Georgia Southern University and the College of Business at Savannah State University. The report builds on the contributions provided by community leaders and greater westside Savannah residents to generate the Canal District Master Plan and Action Playbook. This plan calls for the redevelopment of the historic Water Works building into a flexible public venue that includes a community market, local stores and retail food outlets, a business incubator, and other publicly
available spaces for community events.

This report investigates four potential uses for the redeveloped Water Works building, including a year-round farmers market, a food hall, a business incubator, and a commercial kitchen/kitchen incubator. These uses are compatible with the flexible public venue envisioned for the space. The
team relied on various complementary data sources to develop a thorough analysis, including multiple roundtable discussions with greater westside residents and an online community survey of residents throughout Savannah. This information led the research team to examine similar facilities and gather economic data from privately and publicly available sources. The economic
data focused on the target area and the greater Savannah metropolitan area. After this information was gathered and analyzed, the team determined that these are feasible uses for this
building.