Duct Cleaning in Port Wentworth, GA

PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. (WSAV) – Tracy Saunders made history Tuesday, unseating incumbent Mayor Gary Norton, who served for eight years.

She said she’s ready to move the city forward.

Saunders locked in 49% of the vote, securing the win on a night she said she won’t forget.

“I don’t know that it really crossed my mind that I could actually win until the night that we started getting the polling numbers in,” said Mayor-elect Tracy Saunders. “And every time we got some numbers in, my heart started beating a little faster and a little faster.”

An eight-year resident and educator, Saunders said those experiences connect her with her community. She said running a clean, future-focused campaign helped put her on top.

“We can’t go back in time and fix the things that people don’t like, but we can move forward with positivity and community and to build the kind of place that we all want to be,” Saunders said.

She said her top priorities include building up the community, balancing growth while preserving the community residents value.

“Infrastructure is a big deal out here. We have an older part of town and a newer part of town,” she said. “And right now, there’s a pretty big divide in the things that both of those groups want. And I would like to work toward finding some common ground and building some communities so that everybody can move forward, move forward with something to be happy about,” she said.”

Saunders said her willingness to communicate set her apart from her opponents, adding that she values transparency and trust.

“We’re in this together,” Saunders said. “Any decisions that the council makes affects my family just as much as it affects yours. And that’s what is going to keep me grounded, is that I know that everything that I do is going to affect everybody’s homes, and I want people to understand that. That’s the perspective I’m coming from.”

Richmond Hill also elected its first female mayor, Kristi Cox. Experts said this could mark a shift in local politics, with more women stepping into leadership roles across the region.

PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. (WTOC) - Port Wentworth leaders are celebrating a construction milestone for one of the city’s biggest economic developments - Anchor Park.

There will be a topping out ceremony on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Construction crews will raise the final beam, topping out the Anchor Park Amphitheater and Ice Cove.

City leaders also plan to bury treasure as a way to commemorate this exciting and historic moment.

Vertical construction on the amphitheater and ice cove started in June of this year.

Anchor Park will not only house the Savannah Ghast Pirates training facility and 5,200-seat covered amphitheater but it will also be home to a restaurant, retail shop, multi-use fields and farmers’ market.

Port Wentworth’s City Manager Steve Davis says construction alone has brought around 200 jobs to the area. Among temporary positions during events, the city is expecting at least 25 permanent jobs at Anchor Park.

The 150-acre recreational sports and entertainment park is also bringing adjacent investments to the City.

“We have seven new hotels that are under engineering and permitting phases that are coming in because we’re going to need a lot of folks with 5,200 seats in our amphitheater--the sports tourism, from hockey tournaments, baseball tournaments, football tournaments, that will be going on,” says Davis.

Davis also says once Anchor Park is built, there will be something for everyone to enjoy including the variety of new businesses in the area.

“We are making this a true place for people to live and experience and thrive. And they don’t have to go to other places for their entertainment and their dining preferences. Or more personally for the residents, medical facilities we’ve got coming in. We’ve got banking facilities that are, you know, already passed, approved, permitted.”

While this construction milestone is exciting for some people, others are concerned about the additional traffic a development like Anchor Park will bring to an already congested area.

Davis says there are several road projects in the works to alleviate the anticipated traffic including the widening of Highway 21, the four-laning of Benton Boulevard and state roundabout construction.

The first part of Anchor Park including the ice cove, amphitheater, parking and several fields should be completed in August.

Officials with the city of Port Wentworth, Ga. and Dermody, a national developer with a regional office in Atlanta, gathered on Oct. 16, 2025, at the site of a proposed business park off Ga. Highway 21/Augusta Road to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new signalized intersection adjacent to the massive complex.

The 10-million-sq.-ft. Port Wentworth commerce center will soon bring jobs and new business to the region, but improving the safety of the major intersection must come first, according to a news report from WTOC-TV in Savannah.

The development is set to become the largest near-port logistics project to begin construction in the Southeastern United States in 2025.

The event marked a significant milestone in supporting Port Wentworth's growth while meeting the needs of residents and businesses. The new intersection and accompanying 2.5-mi. road system will provide critical infrastructure improvements that will allow for safer and enhanced traffic flow in the city.

In addition, the project will strengthen connectivity for nearby residential neighborhoods, including Rice Hope and Rice Creek, while supporting access for local businesses and future employers. These improvements also will provide efficient access to the Port Wentworth commerce center.

"They are the first tangible steps toward bringing the business park to life and meeting the growing demand for modern, port-adjacent logistics space in the Southeast," said Wes Hardy, a Dermody partner with the development firm's Southeast Region.

["Making the intersection safe] is desperately needed and in the next six months we should have a stoplight here. [It's] a life-saving matter because people are taking their lives in their hands by shooting out here," Port Wentworth City Manager Steve Davis told the Savannah CBS affiliate.

He and other local officials have long worried about drivers going 55 mph while heading north and south during rush hour on Ga. 21 with no traffic signals at all along the roadway corridor.

The traffic lights and turn lanes slated for completion in 2026 will be funded by a $6 million private investment.

Gabrielle Nelson, Port Wentworth's mayor pro tem, added that the planned intersection will be a blessing as many people use Ga. 21 to get to work, home or to access nearby Interstate 95.

"While we still have a few years ahead of us on the already approved widening of Highway 21 through [the Georgia Department of Transportation], traffic enhancement will make for much smoother daily travel in the months ahead," she said. "It's a step in the right direction, and one thing that it brings is immediate relief while we continue preparing for long-term solutions."

"This development represents the type of public-partnership that defines Port Wentworth," said Davis. "The improvements at Ga. Highway 21 will not only help alleviate a traffic challenge but also open new doors for smart, sustainable growth. We're excited to work alongside Dermody to bring investment, infrastructure and opportunity to our city."

Site Likely to Be East Coast's Top Port-Centric Park

However, the intersection is just one part of the broader Port Wentworth Commerce Center construction. Two speculative buildings within the park are slated to be ready by the second quarter of 2026; one will encompass 538,775 sq. ft., while the other will be a bit larger at 740,375 sq. ft., Dermody noted.

The site also features exceptional power infrastructure, most notably capacity and availability. It is located adjacent to dual 230KV transmission lines, and a Georgia Power-owned 115KV substation also can be found on-site.

In addition, it has been identified as one of the few locations in Georgia with enough capacity to provide one gigawatt of power service. Its proximity to generation sources, like Georgia Power's Plant McIntosh, a natural gas-powered production facility 8 mi. to the north, reinforces the Port Wentworth site's ability and reliability to support high-capacity power users.

Improvements for the millions of sq. ft. within the business park will include water and sewage management, stormwater maintenance and fiber operations needed to operate the commerce center, located northwest of downtown Savannah.

In total, completing the effort will bring about $1 billion in investments to Port Wentworth, according to Davis, in addition to job creation and opportunities for the area's residents. Those jobs will be available both during the complex's construction and after it opens.

A big factor in selecting the site, according to Dermody officials, is its location so close to the port of Savannah, just 6.5 mi. away.

"An aspiration for this project is to create the single-best business park on the East Coast of the United States, and I believe we're going to do that because we've got [the right] team in place," Hardy said.

The Port Wentworth commerce center promises to offer best-in-class facilities, immediate access to I-95, on-site Class One rail service and a Foreign Trade Zone designation that allows tenants to defer, reduce or eliminate tariffs on imported goods, Dermody noted in its news release.

Utilities, including water, sewer, power, gas and fiber optics, will be fully installed along the roadway, ensuring operability from the project's inception.

"Few sites in the U.S. offer this scale while also providing unmatched access to the fastest-growing port in the country, a major interstate, high-capacity power and rail service," Hardy said. "We focus on building where our customers want to be, and Port Wentworth delivers on all fronts."

Once complete, the Port Wentworth facility will serve as the premier port-centric business park on the eastern seaboard, supporting economic growth and enhancing connectivity for global supply chains.

Dermody's Southeast region spans nine states, with particular focus on the major logistics markets of Atlanta, Savannah, Nashville, Charlotte and central Florida. The region currently has four projects under construction and more than 1.5 million sq. ft. available for lease.

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Anchor Park’s 150-acre sports and entertainment complex to include amphitheater, sports fields and community spaces

PORT WENTWORTH, Ga. —

A major milestone was celebrated Tuesday as the final beam was placed on a new sports and entertainment complex under construction at Anchor Park in Port Wentworth.

The facility will be home to the Ghost Pirates Training Center — also known as The Ice Cove — a state-of-the-art venue that will serve as a practice rink for Savannah’s professional hockey team and provide public skating opportunities.

The 150-acre Anchor Park development, located at the corner of Meinhard and Monteith roads, will feature much more than just ice. Plans include ice rinks, a covered amphitheater, sports fields, walking trails, retail spaces and public gathering areas.

Andrew Kaufmann with Zawyer Sports said the project aims to make ice sports more accessible to the community.

“We’re going to skate with kids who otherwise might not be able to afford access to ice,” Kaufmann said. “That’s going to happen via the Zawyer Sports Foundation.”

The “topping out” ceremony celebrated the progress made so far — complete with a pirate chest buried on site and plenty of young Ghost Pirates fans looking forward to skating at the new rink.

Peter Lucho with the Oak View Group said the park’s music and entertainment elements will also make it a regional destination.

“You’ll have a public park in Port Wentworth that not only has sports but entertainment — and great acts are going to play here,” Lucho said.

Developers hope to open the Ghost Pirates Training Center and the first phase of Anchor Park by the summer of 2026.

Published on November 2, 2025

Port Wentworth, a city just outside Savannah, Georgia, recently celebrated a momentous occasion: the inaugural Gullah Geechee Festival. This cultural festival marked the beginning of a new tradition aimed at not only celebrating the deep-rooted heritage of the Gullah Geechee people but also giving back to the local community. The event brought together local residents, visitors, and families from all over to experience an immersive celebration of culture through storytelling, food, and performances.

The Gullah Geechee Festival, while primarily focused on showcasing the vibrant history of the Gullah Geechee people, also served as an economic and social catalyst, drawing tourists to Port Wentworth and enriching the city’s cultural tourism scene. By blending history, storytelling, local cuisine, and community empowerment, the festival contributed to the growing tourism momentum in Georgia, showcasing its diverse cultural landscapes.

As festivals and cultural events increasingly shape tourism destinations, the Gullah Geechee Festival is poised to become a key player in the region’s tourism growth, offering visitors a unique window into the African-American cultural history of the Southeast.

Reviving Gullah Geechee Culture Through Storytelling and Cooking

One of the festival’s primary highlights was its celebration of the Gullah Geechee culture, which traces its roots to the African slaves brought to the coastal Southeast during the transatlantic slave trade. The Gullah Geechee people have maintained a distinct culture, including language, traditions, and cuisine, making their contributions to American culture invaluable. The festival gave attendees the opportunity to connect with the history of the region and the Gullah Geechee people through engaging storytelling sessions, performances, and traditional Gullah-inspired cooking demonstrations.

Storytelling was at the heart of the festival. The oral tradition, a significant aspect of the Gullah Geechee community, was brought to life through powerful narratives shared by local speakers. These stories not only celebrated the resilience and creativity of the Gullah Geechee people but also connected their struggles and triumphs to the broader cultural and historical context. The stories emphasized the connection between Port Wentworth and its African roots, reinforcing the idea that the city is a direct link to the African heritage that shaped much of the region’s identity.

For tourists visiting Georgia, this event provided a powerful learning experience, allowing them to explore the roots of African-American culture in the Southeast. The Gullah Geechee Festival created an opportunity for both local residents and visitors to immerse themselves in a living history, offering a richer understanding of the region’s cultural depth. Visitors to Port Wentworth could participate in discussions on the foodways of the Gullah Geechee people, enjoy traditional dishes, and experience first-hand the richness of the culture.

Impact on Local Tourism and Community Empowerment

The Gullah Geechee Festival in Port Wentworth wasn’t just a cultural event; it was also a reflection of the economic challenges the community faced, particularly after the closure of the International Paper plant. With many families and workers displaced, the festival’s organizers, along with local leaders, saw the event as an opportunity to address immediate community needs while also uplifting the region’s tourism potential.

The festival featured a coat drive, providing much-needed warmth for those affected by the economic downturn. As winter approaches, many families struggle to meet basic needs, and the festival’s organizers felt that it was their responsibility to assist where they could. This form of community outreach intertwined the event’s cultural mission with its economic empowerment efforts, making the festival not only a celebration of heritage but also an act of service. The festival offered vendor opportunities, arts and crafts, and food for attendees, providing an economic boost to local businesses while encouraging tourism in the area.

The vendor opportunities at the festival showcased local artisans and businesses, giving them a platform to reach a broader audience. By featuring local vendors, the festival ensured that it supported the community directly, helping create sustainable local economies. Tourists attending the festival were encouraged to explore the local offerings, boosting sales for regional products, crafts, and food. This type of event-based tourism is increasingly becoming an integral part of the broader Georgia tourism industry, where cultural festivals contribute not only to the educational and experiential aspects of tourism but also to the local economy.

Tourism and Community Growth Through Gullah Geechee Heritage

The festival’s celebration of Gullah Geechee heritage is an important step in preserving the culture for future generations. The event reinforced the importance of community-driven cultural tourism, where heritage and local identity serve as the foundation for both tourism and economic growth. Festivals like the Gullah Geechee Festival help create a platform for local communities to celebrate their unique identity while also engaging with tourists who are increasingly seeking authentic, culturally rich experiences.

Cultural tourism has been growing in Georgia as more travelers look for ways to engage with the history and people of the regions they visit. The Gullah Geechee Festival is a perfect example of how cultural celebrations can serve as an entry point for travelers looking to connect with the deeper stories of a place. In Port Wentworth, the festival presented a chance for visitors to step away from the typical tourist attractions and immerse themselves in the living traditions of the Gullah Geechee people.

For tourists, the festival offered an opportunity to connect with the local community in an authentic, non-commercialized environment. Participating in the festival’s activities allowed tourists to not only experience local cuisine and arts and crafts but also engage in conversations with storytellers and community members about the rich history of the Gullah Geechee people. These interactions contribute to a more meaningful travel experience, where visitors can gain a deeper appreciation for the cultural forces that have shaped the region.

A Foundation for Future Festivals and Tourism Opportunities

Organizers of the Gullah Geechee Festival emphasized that this inaugural event is only the beginning. They intend to grow the festival each year, expanding its reach and increasing the number of activities and cultural offerings. The festival’s future growth promises not only to enhance its cultural value but also to boost tourism in Port Wentworth and the surrounding Savannah area.

As the festival grows in scale, so too will its impact on local tourism. Each year, more tourists will be drawn to Port Wentworth, eager to participate in the celebrations and to witness the living history of the Gullah Geechee people. Local businesses and cultural organizations will continue to benefit from the increased foot traffic, and the event will continue to support the ongoing revitalization of the community.

Port Wentworth’s Gullah Geechee Festival serves as a model for other communities seeking to promote cultural tourism through grassroots events. The festival shows that even small towns can leverage their unique heritage to create thriving tourism opportunities while also strengthening the community.

Conclusion: A Celebration of Heritage, Community, and Tourism

Port Wentworth’s inaugural Gullah Geechee Festival was more than just a cultural celebration—it was a catalyst for community empowerment and tourism development. By combining heritage preservation, community outreach, and tourism engagement, the festival marked an important step in the growth of Port Wentworth as a destination for cultural tourism.

For both locals and visitors, the festival provided an enriching experience that celebrated the spirit of the Gullah Geechee people while also giving back to the community. As the festival grows in the years to come, it will continue to foster a deeper connection between tourists and the rich cultural history of the region, ensuring that the Gullah Geechee heritage is preserved for future generations.

The Gullah Geechee Festival is a perfect example of how small-town festivals can become major cultural and tourism events, creating a platform for local communities to celebrate their identity and heritage while simultaneously boosting the local economy. The festival’s ongoing success will not only benefit Port Wentworth but also contribute to the wider tourism landscape of Georgia, solidifying its position as a cultural tourism hub in the Southeastern United States.

Final Thoughts on Cultural Tourism in Port Wentworth

The Gullah Geechee Festival serves as a perfect example of how cultural heritage and tourism can intersect to create long-lasting benefits for communities. As Port Wentworth continues to grow as a tourist destination, festivals like these will play an essential role in showcasing the unique cultural identity of the area while fostering economic growth, community engagement, and a greater appreciation for the region’s history and heritage.