Atlanta-based developer Ben Carter made waves in the world of commercial real estate this week with the unveiling of a $75 million plan to revitalize historic Broughton Street through the acquisition of 24 pieces of property.
Carter’s name may be new to some in Savannah, but his roots run deep in the Peach State, with millions of square feet of retail development and mixed-use projects, some of which provide clues to his grandiose plans for Coastal Georgia.
In the past week, Carter has been busy with announcements, including a new 400,000-square-foot fashion outlet mall in Augusta, an update on the future Tanger Savannah outlet mall in Pooler and, lastly, an informal presentation to Savannah’s City Council on his vision for a revitalized Broughton Street.
Carter discussed some of his plans Thursday with Savannah Morning News. He said the Pooler and Augusta projects mark a transition for him as a developer from traditional malls to outlets.
“I don’t think America’s got a lot of need for more regional malls,” said Carter. “And the retailer growth strategy is either urban or outlet, so we’re focused on urban projects, and we’re focused on outlet projects as a company.”
Examining Carter’s past projects may shed more light on the proposed Broughton overhaul.
Retail royalty
“Ben Carter is retail royalty in Georgia,” said Tony Wilbert, who covered Carter’s commercial real estate projects throughout the ’90s as a journalist for the Atlanta Business Chronicle and who now runs public relations firm The Wilbert Group.
Carter was raised in the Buckhead area of Atlanta. His father, Frank, was a mall developer who earned the nickname the “Mayor of Midtown” for his involvement in the community, according to Wilbert.
Frank Carter built some of Atlanta’s earliest shopping centers, such as the Cumberland Mall, and Ben Carter went to work for his father, learning the ins and outs of mall development during the boom years of the ’70s and ’80s when Americans made a mass exodus from cities to the suburbs.
Ben later broke away to work on his own projects, including his first big gamble in the mid ’90s, the Mall of Georgia in Gwinnett County.
Wilbert said Carter gave him a tour of the mall when it was nothing more than dirt and naysayers were skeptical of Carter’s ability to attract a high-end retailer like Nordstrom to the suburbs.
“People thought he was crazy, but Ben had great success with the Mall of Georgia,” said Wilbert.
The Streets of Buckhead and St. Johns Town Center
Several years after that, Carter set his sights on Atlanta’s uptown, specifically his home base of Buckhead.
He bought several properties in a notorious bar district along Atlanta’s Peachtree Street and announced a $1 billion Rodeo Drive-style plannned development, complete with luxury retailers, offices, hotels and condos. He named the proposed development the Streets of Buckhead.
Carter launched this project around 2006 and 2007, right before the banking and housing crisis. After financial giant Lehman Brothers folded in 2008, credit dried up and the “R” word, recession, became a reality. According to the Atlanta Business Chronicle, retailers pulled out and the project hit a permanent road block.
A two-block hole-in-the ground where construction was to take place would flood when it rained and had locals joking that the Streets of Buckhead had become the “Lakes of Buckhead.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, Carter divested from the project in 2010, turning over a six-square-block space to San Diego-based OliverMcMillan for $300 million after spending nearly $400 million.
The 2012 article says that four years of stalled construction left “half-built parking garages, rust-colored piles of debris and seven immobile cranes in the air.”
Wilbert said it was a low point for Carter, who had an office overlooking the property. In the interim, he dabbled in a few other projects outside of Atlanta.
One project Carter frequently references is St. Johns Town Center in Jacksonville, Fla., which opened in 2005 before he began the Streets of Buckhead. The 1.5 million-square-foot mixed-use development features upscale shops, restaurants, hotels, offices and apartments.
Savannah’s own Levy Jewelers has opened a location there.
Carter often cites St. Johns Town Center as proof that he can bring a large-scale, complex development to completion.
The continued success of St. Johns as a shopping mecca and now his foray into Coastal Georgia, first with the Pooler outlet mall and now Broughton Street, signal a sort of renaissance period for the developer.
“Everyone’s been asking, ‘What happened to Ben?’ said Wilbert.
Key partnerships
Carter’s ability to interpret demographic trends and bring in a strong financial partner to help execute his large-scale vision has been key to his more triumphant projects.
In the case of the Mall of Georgia and St. Johns, he has partnered with Simon Property Group, one of the largest commercial real estate companies in the country. In Pooler, he finalized a joint partnership with Tanger in January to develop 400,000 square feet of retail space set to open in spring of 2015.
Commercial realtors say a financial partner will be crucial to executing a downtown revitalization such as Broughton, especially using scattered properties. So far, Carter says, he has closed on two properties and has 22 more under contract.
Michael Brown owns roughly eight or so buildings along Broughton, including those occupied by national tenants Gap and Banana Republic and local ones such as Paris Market.
He said he feels positive about Carter’s proposals for Broughton Street as long as he respects the community and its historic buildings.
“It should be a commercial area, not a mall without a roof,” said Brown. “If he maintains the historic fabric and integrity of the street, it will be fine.”
Brown said he is not selling any of his buildings but alluded to a possible leasing agreement.
The question remains whether Carter can do on Broughton Street what he could not in Buckhead. Though he would not answer specific questions on Broughton until a press conference this Tuesday, he signaled his readiness for the challenge.
“(It’s the) most exciting project I’ve ever worked on in my career,” Carter said.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Ben Carter Enterprises invites the media and the public to learn more about the Broughton Street development project.
When: Tuesday, Feb. 11 at 1 p.m.
Where: 201 West Broughton Street (at the corner of Barnard and Broughton Streets)