Joint Venture Incorporating Trees into GA Apartment Design
Mariner Group and Brand Properties found a way to showcase oak trees, which the area is known for.
By Dees Stribling, Contributing Editor
Savannah, Ga.—Mariner Group and Brand Properties have started work on Mariner Grove, an apartment development about a mile and a half from Savannah’s historic district. The site is distinctive for its live oak trees sporting Spanish moss, which the developers have preserved.
“The mature live oaks are what make the site,” said Ian Smith, a principal of Mariner Group. “The trees are recognized worldwide as iconic to Savannah, and it was important to us to not only save them but showcase them.”
Layout options will include studios, one-bedroom and two-bedrooms. Initial rents are expected to range from $1,000 to $1,600 when the development is complete in October 2016.
Common amenities will include a fitness center, resort-style pool with tanning ledge and grilling area, business hub and conference room. The property will also accommodate bicyclists with a bicycle service station and dog enthusiasts with a dog park.
The locally based Choate Construction Co. is building the community on the 16-acre site, which will feature 320 units in three three-story buildings. Thomas and Hutton, also based in Savannah, is doing the engineering work for the development.