Date: May 31 – June 5, 2015

Location: Skidaway Island, Georgia

Sponsor: The Landings Association Inc.

Subject Area: 

Panel Chair: John M. Walsh III, President, TIG Real Estate Services, Inc. Dallas, Texas

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Background and Panel Assignment

The Landings is a gated, planned-development community located on Skidaway Island, an interior barrier island off the coast of Savannah, Georgia. Located in Chatham County, the island is separated from the mainland by the Intracoastal Waterway and the Wilmington River. Skidaway Island features vast natural character and abundant wildlife, and is home to Skidaway Island State Park and University of Georgia’s Marine Extension Service – The Skidaway Institute of Oceanography.   The Landings is home to an estimated 8,500 residents at peak times, with approximately 34 percent of the Island’s households earning incomes greater than $150,000. With six golf old courses, the Landings is a community that lives and breathes the golf life-style.

The Landings Association Inc. (TLA) asked the Urban Land Institute to consider a series of questions related to the Association’s new strategic plan, which identifies five key objectives: environmental sustainability/stewardship; housing; technology; amenities, activities, programs and services; and governance and decision making. Specifically, the need for a cohesive land use plan is referred to in the housing, environmental, and amenity objectives. TLA recognized that today’s land use choices will determine the success of the community over the next several decades.

The panel’s approach was to look at the culture, history, and land economics (including regional and national trends); assess the community’s planning and design; and formulate strategies, including some development opportunities for the island. These ideas are combined with some implementation strategies that will help the Association establish a strategic vision to help balance the desires of the community with the pressures of post-recession market trends.

Summary of Recommendations

The panel’s primary recommendation is that The Landings should be repositioned as a multigenerational, engaged community. This goal means the resident of the future should be offered a multitude of social and community amenities in addition to the current focus on golf. With these thoughts in mind, the panel’s primary recommendations include the following:

• Analyze and understand the market trends and opportunities facing The Landings and Skidaway Island.
• Prepare and adopt a set of strategic island objectives to help guide the future of the island. The panel has outlined those strategic objectives in this report.
• Build on and expand the new branding and marketing initiative.
• Consider alternative and replacement housing in a variety of forms and locations throughout the island.
• Update the island master plan. The Landings Club is a private golf club that draws its membership exclusively from The Landings property owners. In 2015, about 70 percent of property owners are members.
• Consider a variety of new approaches and physical amenities, such as connecting The Landings to the Greater Savannah region; improving mobility and connectivity; identifying and constructing new gathering places; undertaking specific site development actions for the new harbor development; creating a mixed-use site adjacent to the Village center; developing portions of the spray fields; and relocating the island’s welcome center.
• Structure the three entities (Association, club, and company) to achieve the island’s strategic goals.