For decades, Drayton Tower served a vital role in the downtown Savannah economy.
Throughout the second half of the 20th century, the large apartment building on Liberty Street provided relatively low cost, high-density rental housing for a wide variety of residents.
But Drayton Tower’s infrastructure deteriorated over the years, and the building seemed poised for a complete makeover during the condo craze and housing boom.
But things didn’t work out as planned.
Cynics around town assumed Drayton Tower would sit empty for many years and continue to deteriorate.
Then, in 2012, the Manhattan-based developer FLANK bought the majority of the building.
Now Drayton Tower is once again operating as one of the city’s most vital apartment buildings. There are fewer and larger units in this new incarnation, and the new apartments are fairly expensive.
But Drayton Tower’s location, views and amenities are obviously worth the money to a significant number of renters.
Many Savannahians see the International Style building as out of place in Savannah’s historic downtown. I used to feel like that.
But Drayton Tower’s detractors change their minds when they realize the role it plays in the downtown economy and come to understand that architecture should speak for its own era, not just replicate the past.
Drayton Tower’s design is especially effective at street level, where the expanses of glass and frequent entrances engage pedestrians.
The corner retail space at Drayton and Liberty streets is now occupied by The Beer Growler, which seems to be doing great business amidst Savannah’s flourishing beer culture.
Rob’s at Drayton Tower opened several years ago. Seen from the sidewalk, the salon looks bright and welcoming.
There’s currently a large empty retail space at the corner of Liberty and Floyd streets, but expect some entrepreneur to snap that up soon.
And Byrd Cookie Company recently opened the café BT Byrd’s next to Drayton Tower’s Liberty Street entrance.
With a few tables outside and a variety of comfortable seating inside, BT Byrd’s has created an inviting space that takes great advantage of the glass front.
Despite its small size, BT Byrd’s has a full bar, an interesting food menu and long hours.
It’s open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday through Wednesday and from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
I think of that stretch of sidewalk on Liberty as being fairly quiet, but there was a steady stream of pedestrians and joggers when a friend and I met up at BT Byrd’s one afternoon last week.
I opted for an Abita Purple Haze from the short but thoughtful beer list and ordered the wagyu beef chili dog topped with white cheddar and slivers of Granny Smith apple ($12).
The mix of flavors made a wonderful small meal, but the price is likely to limit the café’s business.
Given the quality of that chili dog, I’m anxious to try a number of other things on the menu, including the tarragon chicken salad sandwich ($10) and the sandwich with braised pork from Savannah River Farms ($13).
There are also a few breakfast items, plus some enticing premium cocktails.
Of course, BT Byrd’s also sells cookies. There are even cookie sandwiches in addition to the expected retail items.
With the new residents upstairs and with the neighbors in the DeRenne Apartments across Drayton Street, businesses on that stretch of Liberty Street are able to attract loyal customers from the immediate area.
J. Christopher’s at the corner of Abercorn Street has been a big hit with locals since opening back in 2006. Several businesses near the intersection of Bull Street cater more to locals than to tourists.
If we incentivize appropriate residential infill, we could see other portions of Liberty Street thriving with businesses that rely primarily on local clientele.
If the city eventually builds a new arena outside of the Landmark Historic District, another large tract of land will be available for development.
I’m sure some hoteliers would love to be on that site.
But the downtown economy would be healthier and better diversified if we had a few more buildings like Drayton Tower.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net and http://www.billdawers.com. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, Ga. 31401.