More than six years after deciding to demolish the federally subsidized housing in Savannah’s oldest Black neighborhood, the Housing Authority of Savannah and Yamacraw Village Residents Council have reached a deal about how many low income spaces will be available in a planned new development.
The Housing Authority has committed to building 100 new units of income-based housing, and will give the few remaining residents at Yamacraw the right of return if they continue to meet eligibility requirements when the new buildings are complete, according to a joint press release Thursday.
Current residents will be required to relocate and will receive assistance from the Housing Authority for “coverage of moving expenses, security and utility deposits and transportation,” according to the release. Each household will also be assigned a “relocation specialist.”
The statement did not include information about which neighborhoods or areas that the current Yamacraw residents will be moved to nor a timeline for their relocation.
While discussions have been underway since 2020, the demolition application for Yamacraw was initially submitted in August 2025, according to reporting from the Savannah Morning News.
Yamacraw residents have been advocating for increased protections that are legally enforceable, including a commitment to rebuild affordable housing, the right to return, and comprehensive relocation support. Many have been wary that the city and developers want to turn the desirable piece of land into luxury housing or a tourist-friendly development.
It is still unclear the exact details of the redevelopment plans. The statement said that as rebuilding commences, the Residents Council will receive updates from the Housing Authority every six months and will be able to monitor the progress.
“From the beginning, our focus has been on making sure that our families that call Yamacraw home get a chance to come back to a safe place to live,” said Shana Williams, treasurer of the Yamacraw Resident Council, in the release.
In the early 20th century, Yamacraw Village was a vibrant Black community, the subject of songs and poetry. Then, it became ground zero for federal policies known as slum clearances and 3,000 residents were displaced.
The public housing community built in the 1940s has been neglected for decades.
A 2019 Capital Needs Assessment found that living conditions had deteriorated to the point that Yamacraw would need $40 million of capital improvements for repairs. A 2023 report raised the cost of renovation to $51 million.
In June 2020, the Housing Authority adopted the motion to demolish Yamacraw Village, according to their Public Housing Repositioning Plan, saying that it would be more cost effective to rebuild than to renovate the sprawling complex.
