Skidaway Island State Park Renovation Completed
The full-service design and engineering was provided by CROFT & Associates
Savannah, GA – October 6, 2021 - Skidaway Island State Park has completed its 6,200 sq. ft. visitor facility renovation, designed by architectural firm CROFT & Associates. Located near historic Savannah, the state park borders Skidaway narrows, a part of Georgia’s Intracoastal Waterway.
With both architecture and engineering under one roof, CROFT was able to provide full-service design, allowing seamless coordination for Skidaway Island State Park. CROFT’s combined resource teams collaborated on the architecture for the building, which aesthetically combines low country, plantation-style design with a coastal feel to reflect the local island vernacular found throughout the communities surrounding Savannah. The wide-covered patios on the front and back of the building, for example, welcome visitors and provide accommodations for guests to enjoy the natural habitats surrounding the site.
The new visitor center also includes check-in stations, retail gift area, bird feeding stations, butterfly garden, turtle habitat, outdoor space, tidal areas, administrative offices, and a life-size replica of the Smithsonian’s Giant Ground Sloth Skeleton, displayed to show visitors the types of animals native to the Savannah area 10,000 years ago.
The new facility replaces the previous visitor center, which was more than three decades old and, as one of the most visited state parks in Georgia, could no longer accommodate its visitors. Through its design, the CROFT team was also able to address many of the previous structure’s challenges. For example, the building floor was raised three feet from the original visitor center’s location to keep the building out of the high-water tidal floodplain.
CROFT’s initial design work started in September of 2018. Skidaway Island construction began in April of 2020 and finished in early February 2021.
“We are so glad to have this beautiful new facility at Skidaway Island State Park. Our guests now have a much better experience when checking in, can learn more about the park’s ecosystem, and can shop in a much larger gift shop. It’s a fantastic addition to our park system. Commented Jeff Cown, director for the Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites.
In addition to Skidaway, the CROFT team has been a part of Georgia Department of Natural Resources projects Red Top Mountain Visitor Center, Amicalola Falls Visitors Center, and Fort Yargo State Park.
