SAVANNAH, Ga.– In 2018, the Foram Group, a third-generation, family-owned and operated real estate asset management and development company, announced plans to develop The Starland Village, a multiuse development on a two-block stretch along historic Bull Street in Savannah, Georgia’s Starland District.
The neighborhood-driven, live-work-play community will incorporate into its design two existing and historic buildings, one of which served as a former church sanctuary. The church building is scheduled to undergo a series of renovations and upgrades to create, The Wesley, a dedicated, mid-sized events venue.
“As Foram nears the construction phase, our team has been working overtime to ensure we can preserve the unique architectural details of The Wesley in the process,” said Travis Stringer, said Foram Group President Travis Stringer.
“One of those details is the beautiful stained glass window that overlooked the altar of the former church. We knew it should be preserved and we wanted to find a new home for this special window. Through a series of conversations with former congregation members, we were connected to Mrs. Carmel Hearn (also a former congregation member). She was able to share the unique history of the window and where it originated which made our efforts to find a new home for it even more important.”
Hearn’s paternal grandparents, Gabrielle and Frank Garvin, donated the six-foot round stained glass window picturing Jesus when the Epworth United Methodist Church sanctuary was renovated in 1960-61. “All four of my grandparents were Epworth members. My parents, Mary Alice (Meeks) and Ed Garvin, got to know each other and started dating after my dad got back from serving in WWII. They were married at Epworth in 1947,” said Hearn.
With her childhood home just a few blocks from Blessed Sacrament Church and School, Hearn’s parents eventually worked at Blessed Sacrament as church organists. “During those years, I regularly attended many of Blessed Sacrament’s midnight masses on Christmas Eve, often singing in the choir. When mom retired after 36 years of service, the congregation dedicated the church organ and a music classroom in her honor. Two years ago, our family's connection to Blessed Sacrament grew again when our daughter, Alex, went to work in the school office.”
Recently, Blessed Sacrament completed extensive renovations to the church and school buildings. “It was Alex who thought about the unfunded stained glass window project in the second-floor lecture hall at Blessed Sacrament,” said Hearn.
Through Hearn and her daughter, Foram was soon connected with Rev. Brett Brannen at Blessed Sacrament Church and the group agreed the historic stained glass window picturing Jesus would live on in its new home at Blessed Sacrament.
“We are thrilled the window will live on at Blessed Sacrament Church and a piece of Savannah’s history will be preserved,” said Stringer.
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ABOUT FORAM GROUP:
Founded in 1978 in Atlanta, Ga. and headquartered in Savannah, Ga., Foram Groupis a third-generation, family-owned and operated company doing business across the Southeast, from Miami to Atlanta, over the last 40 years. A dynamic team of real estate-business professionals, Foram specializes in real estate asset management including property development, acquisition, management and leasing. For more information, visit www.foramgroup.comor email info@foramgroup.com.