August 25, 2001—The V.I. State Historic Preservation Office plans to rehabilitate Rothschild Francis "Market" Square starting in about four months, a small crowd at the Savan Community Center was told Friday night.
The meeting was one of a series planned to encourage community input on the project.
Following a historical overview by Myron Jackson, preservation office senior planner, architect Chaneel Callwood-Daniels of the Yssis Group presented the design plans, which include eliminating parking and vehicular traffic through the square.
Instead of going through the square to get from Main Street to Back Street and Fireburn Hill, motorists will have to use Canal Gade, turning north at Sts. Peter and Paul School.
"Traffic flow on Main Street and Back Street will remain the same," Callwood-Daniels said, and crosswalks will be designated on Main Street at Market Square.
The plans also call for planting mahogany trees on both sides of the Market Square bungalow where in years past such trees stood.
Concrete pavers resembling the old yellow ballast bricks once used there will replace the modern-day asphalt surrounding the bungalow. Cobblestone pavers will extend on Main Street from the Enid M. Baa Public Library to the Green Corner building, as well as along a section of Back Street north of Market Square. Other planned improvements include the reintroduction of stone gutters, historic street lamps and a new fountain.
The rehabilitation is intended to help preserve the historic character of Market Square and to encourage its use by vendors of locally made products, Jackson said.
In the past, Market Square was an important commercial and economic center where farmers, fishermen and market women sold their products.
Contrary to popular belief, Jackson said, "there is no documented evidence of slaves having been sold there."
The cast-iron bungalow was built sometime between 1900 and 1917. Prior to that, the square was an open market area shaded only by mahogany trees. The bungalow was refurbished seven years ago in the first phase of the rehabilitation project.
Yssis principal John Daniels said, "It is our hope and expectation that by bringing upgrades to this area, we can attract tourists and upper-end businesses to the area … We see this initiative as a catalyst to spur other improvements here."
Savan resident Sheila Schulterbrandt said that the plans were "good for the development of Savan" but that she wished more Savaneros had attended the meeting to give their input.
The project is fully funded by the Federal Highway Administration, according to Rodney Pladsky, construction program manager for the administration. Callwood-Daniels said the construction work should take six months.
The next community meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Friday. For the location of that meeting and more information, call the Historic Preservation Office at 776-8605.
