Technology & Innovation

Savannah Business Journal Staff Report

June 22, 2018 - The City of Savannah welcomed members of the State Legislature to City Hall on Friday to officially announce the formation of the Savannah Logistics Technology Corridor.  

The formation of the corridor was part of the City’s 2018 Legislative Agenda.  The City was ultimately successful in lobbying the legislature to name an area of Savannah, along the I-16 and I-95 corridors, as one of two IT corridors in Georgia. The Savannah area corridor will focus on logistics technology.

The process was spearheaded by District 9 Georgia State Senator P.K. Martin, who chaired the Senate IT Corridors Study Committee, and was co-sponsored by members of the Chatham County delegation including District 1 Senator Ben Watson, District 2 Senator Lester Jackson and Representative Ron Stephens from District 164.

The task force will organize a series of round table discussions in July and August to gather feedback from key stakeholder groups and discuss the needs, barriers, and opportunities related to technology investment, business and workforce development, legislation, and incentives.

The feedback will ultimately be consolidated into a set of recommendations in advance of the upcoming State legislative session. Those recommendations could include proposed State incentives or funding requests to grow and encourage investment in high-tech industries in Chatham County.

"Savannah has it all, thousands of college students, a very high quality of life, and a strong start-up culture," said Mayor Eddie DeLoach.  "We also have the most innovative and fastest-growing port in the nation. Every year dozens of new logistics companies open shop in Savannah to help meet the demands of the explosive growth we are seeing in our Port. With this State Technology Corridor designation, Savannah is poised to become the global leader in logistics technology innovation. That means more high-paying jobs for our residents."

Also in attendance at today's news conference was Creative Coast Chairman Clinton Edminster, Savannah Logistics Technology Corridor Task Force Chair Keith Fletcher, City of Savannah Assistant to the City Manager Bret Bell, City of Savannah Business Opportunity Director Manuel Dominguez, Chatham County IT Director Nick Batey, Diana McKenzie and Heather Maxfield.