I think the historic review board would have a cow with that proposal. They only like to see buildings at most containing about 8 floors. They should simply renovate the exterior of that parking garage to be more appealing. I agree that it is a really ghastly building.
Some other thoughts I have from reading the blogs are:
When the new arena opens in a few years and they demolish the MLK one at the Civic Center, they should build the IMAX on that spot. They could incorporate, maybe some boutiques and a smaller Whole Foods. That's what surprises me, we have yet to see one of those enter the market. I like the dome IMAX in Tampa at the MOSI, that would be awesome to bring to Savannah. Something needs to be done with the Civic Center though, it's a horrible looking building.
Now for whoever said Oglethorpe Mall will attract Saks or Nordstrom, that won;t happen for a very long time. Jacksonville, a metro area with 1.3 million people, is having a hard time attracting those stores, how will Savannah with a modest 300,000 people and an average household income of $61,000 be able to attract those stores. Jacksonville can keep things too. Savannah has had a hard time doing that for some reason. A Cheesecake Factory on the other hand would do very well and I keep hoping that it will materialize in the River Landing or on the Southside somewhere.