40 Years in Thomas Square

By: Kevin Rose

There’s an old saying in Urban Design circles that it takes 100 years to build or more importantly rebuild a neighborhood, Thomas Square is a neighborhood that is in a full tilt rebirth. As  a resident, practicing architect and preservationist who chose Savannah as his home in 1986 it has been a wonderful transformation to watch. Many people see the resurgence directly tied to the use of Starland and Starland District as a catalyst to the rebirth and I agree that Starland has had an impact, but we would be remiss to not talk about how Starland wasn’t just a great branding idea created by Greg Jacobs and John Deaderick in 1998. The Starland Dairy was the hub of growth starting around 1909 and its red star a beacon for development as much as its milk brought nourishment to the residents. Thomas Square had its anchor and soon other businesses moved in, David’s Grocery (1936 opened by immigrant grocer Abraham Rosenzweig) was likely the one with the most impact, helping to augment Starland Dairy’s horse drawn milk deliveries with a walkable supermarket that many Thomas Square residents pine for today. The neighborhood flourished, the commercial strip between 33rd street and Victory Drive was hopping until the late mid-20th century, the Dairy was declining and so did the neighborhood. Suburbanization took its toll on many American cities and by 1980, the year Starland Dairy closed, the neighborhood was blighted. The blight was so severe Mayor Floyd Adams discussed bulldozing much of it to allow “new development.” 

Fast forward to the late 90s early 2000s when John and Greg picked up the main dairy block and several other properties in the neighborhood. If I recall correctly we started working together somewhere around 2000, many master planning and design sessions occurred and after some study of the site and building stock we opted to leave the iconic dairy building and selected the now Flora and Fauna building as step one. Over the next few years, the central building became a vet clinic, the dairy coolers on Desoto became shops, and the Two Tides building was preserved with a residence upstairs and different businesses such as Le Chai and Nita’s home cooking. The Starland Cafe was birthed, a dog park was opened to its east and the once derelict Victorian homes across 41st street to the north were being bought up and restored, the transformation had begun, rebirth was underway by individuals who saw the beauty and potential in the neighborhood and its gorgeous building stock. This groundswell brought in a punk rock club at 2424 Bull aptly named 2424, businesses and artists were taking note and in 2004 the Starland Condos at 2409 Bull St. went up. I worked with (now Charleston SC Mayor William Cogswell, John and Greg on the design which incorporated Eastern European style pre-cast concrete panels and the empty teeth(?) facing Bull Street were replaced. More plans were being hatched, ideas were flowing and then the economic downturn started in 2008, banks shut off money and the project went dormant, as did the restoration work by individuals. After roughly 8 years in a cocoon the neighborhood began to flourish again. The empty lot on the west side of DeSoto St was sold and phase three of the rebirth was about to start. 

2018 was a banner year for many cities and Savannah was no exception. Somewhere in the midst of all of the growth the new owners of the vacant Starland lot reached out to me about an outdoor placeholder: Starland Food Port, which later became Starland Yard, was set in motion. With the neighborhood on the upswing, areas to the north were thriving and Thomas Square was about to get its first “outdoor living room.” Starland Yard opened in the summer of 2019 and has become a neighborhood favorite. What once was meant to be a placeholder became a permanent fixture with the creators Niko Ormond, Guy Davidson, Pila Sunderland and John Benhase loving the energy so much they created another one in the Jacksonville area. Spring of 2020 a sea of change occurred with the Covid outbreak. It shuttered businesses such as Victory North, Troupial, Starlandia, and back in the Day Bakery, threatening the momentum and the local businesses in ways no one could have predicted. What happened next was even more surprising, our little historic neighborhood became the new home to transplants from Austin, LA, Boston, NYC and Chicago, once the lockdown was called off the neighborhood saw a groundswell of investment and more creative and interesting residents than before. Part of what I love about Thomas Square is the diversity, something I hope it will always maintain but seeing fresh paint on homes that were once shuttered and vacant makes me happy on my daily walks or bike rides through the neighborhood. So many new businesses, restaurants and places popped up and although I left the neighborhood for a few years there was no other choice for me in 2018. The walkability and community is what makes it so lovely and it’s exciting to see how a Dairy with an iconic red star can nourish and re-nourish a neighborhood. 

PS: Cheers to those of you who remember the “Trader Joe’s” sign that was placed on the window across from the Dairy by a local artist and created such a stir.