A major renovation of Heritage Place Apartments is complete in Savannah’s Cuyler-Brownville neighborhood. The $24 million project updated 88 existing affordable apartments and is expected to keep those homes affordable for another 30 years.
The city and Mercy Housing Southeast marked the work with a rededication on September 23. Rather than adding 88 new apartments, the project preserves homes already at Heritage Place and improves the buildings where residents live.
The work included new roofs and windows, repairs to brickwork and sidewalks, new gutters, paint and lighting. Apartments received new flooring, kitchen cabinets and appliances, plumbing improvements and HVAC updates. Common areas were refreshed as well.
Heritage Place includes two buildings with a long history in Savannah. Charity Hospital began as the McKane School for Nurses in 1893 and trained Black nurses and doctors after the Civil War. The Florance Street School was built in 1928, desegregated in 1971 and continued as an elementary school until 1987.
Mercy Housing converted the historic buildings into affordable housing in 2003. The latest renovation keeps them in use while addressing the age of the property and updating the apartments for residents.
The City of Savannah contributed $560,000 from its Affordable Housing Fund in support of the financing application that helped make the renovation possible. For Cuyler-Brownville, the result is the preservation of an existing housing community and two buildings tied closely to the neighborhood’s history.
