SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Hundreds of young local children will have a chance at a better education after a groundbreaking on a new early childhood learning center Tuesday. This new facility will serve children from 6 weeks to 4 years old.
The center is a partnership between Chatham County and the city of Savannah. It will be built on land through a long-term lease with the Savannah Housing Authority in East Savannah.
The program will serve nearly 150 children with a dedicated staff to help meet "quality rated" standards from the state Department of Early Care and Learning.
The learning center will be primarily supported by a special-purpose local-option sales tax (SPLOST), and other funding from the county and the city.
Officials said the groundbreaking celebrates the achievements of children who will come through the facility. The new early childhood learning center has been in the works for a decade and officials say they are happy to finally see the progress come to life.
It is a part of the East Savannah Gateway Plan, which aims to revitalizeeastern Savannah.
"We have a comprehensive revitalization strategy that focuses on four pillar areas: mixed-income housing, greater college education, community wellness, and economic vitality," said Derek Mallow, executive director and CEO of East Savannah United. "That is the purpose of our model. That is the model for implementation for us. It coincides with the East Savannah Gateway Plan, which was started in 2012, finalized in 2014 and adopted by the Housing Authority Board of Commissioners."
What stalled the plan from coming to life was finding the funds.
"That plan was created and sat on the shelf because the federal government did not award the implementation dollars. With that being unsuccessful, we had to figure out a way how. I was blessed two years ago to become the ED (executive director) to help get it over the finish line," explained Mallow.
The new learning facility will be built on a 9-acre site. City officials say it is their goal to reduce and eradicate poverty within the city, pointing out that children with access to education and child care have a stronger chance of succeeding.
The new site will provide that opportunity to many young individuals. Childhood poverty on the east side of Savannah is at 86%, so officials say that half of the children enrolled at the new learning center need to be from the local community and have a low income.
"The facility at minimum will be able to serve 144 children. Out of those 144 children, 50% of those children must be low-income children from the neighborhood, the east side," said Mallow. "That is extremely important when we look at stats of the poverty rate here on the east side, here it is a 33%. Other data that we use to suggest health metrics suggests that childhood poverty is at 86% right here on the east side and it is at the highest in Chatham County - for childhood poverty."
At the start of the project, the new learning center was set to cost $6.5 million. The project has since bloomed into an $11 million project.
After breaking ground, officials stated that the "best is yet to come". They want to see Hitch Village revitalized, adding that "it takes a village to rejuvenate a village."
"No matter what you do, no one can ever take away your ability to learn how to read and your ability to want to desire to have education," Mallow stated. "Education is the gateway for opportunity and success. We have to prepare our children to have the opportunity. This early learning center will serve those children... we hope by giving them a strong solid foundation and giving parents a high-quality early learning center we will be able to deliver on improving literacy rates in Chatham County, specifically on the east side."
Savannah City Manager Jay Melder said that the project is a community development at its very finest, one that "is economical, an investment in safety and longevity in the community."
So, what is the next step for the East Savannah Gateway Plan? Create mixed-income housing. Officials say it will create a thriving community. They will take on single, family, and residential homes.
There are numerous sites on the east side that are being looked at, and Mallow shares that they are going through an acquisition strategy. Some land donors have already agreed to develop property.
In the future, the plan will also focus on community wellness, like adding a pharmacy and a grocery store with healthy, fresh food residents on the east side can access. Also creating businesses for the area like the southside of Savannah has.
"I am extremely excited," Mallow said. "We hope the residents see that it took 10 years to get here, but we got here."
The early learning center is expected to have a ribbon cutting in September 2025.