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Developer Ben Carter’s Broughton Street project is gaining steam with more retailers signing up and more properties firmly in his portfolio, but his efforts to revitalize these historic storefronts have begun to encounter the red tape of zoning rules and bureaucratic scrutiny.
Since he announced his multi-million-dollar plan, Carter has acquired six properties and one master lease agreement and has about 19 more under contract. Sixteen are expected to close by the end of April.
Of the 150,000 square feet of leasable space, he says more than half, about 80,000 square feet, is under negotiation, with two new letters of intent expected to be signed next week.
During an interview Thursday, Carter said the leasing process is going well.
“We had a feeling, but it’s nice to have your feelings confirmed,” said Carter.
Sitting down with Savannah Morning News, Carter provided a full list of retailers he wants to add to the downtown mix of shops and boutiques, several of which are presently in negotiations such as Sephora and H&M.
Carter said his biggest challenge is adapting these spaces for retailers, many of whom are looking for bigger floor plans and longer storefronts.
“We have more retailers that want larger spaces than we have buildings that are large enough,” said Carter. “So part of the challenge is how do we connect the buildings on the interior.”
He said the maximum size of the floor plate within one building’s structural walls is typically between 2,700-5,400 feet.
“Most of the retailers we’re talking to are 3,000-5,000 square feet,” said Carter.
Each week, Carter’s broker, Lori Judge, takes prospective retailers for a stroll and says it doesn’t take more than four or five building tours before they make a decision.
“A lot of them have prototypical spaces that don’t fit a street environment because they’re all 30-foot by 90-foot buildings,” said Carter. “So a lot of them are interested in what structural walls can be modified to combine spaces horizontally and how much storefront they can have is also really critical.”
Carter said his team will do most of the interior work, while the retailers pay for their own décor and fixtures.
“What we are hopeful we can do is go — in increments of 30 or 60 feet — to a 90 foot plan for a few of the retailers that want a larger floor plan,” said Carter.
Under review
An example of the strategy to reconfigure these spaces came before the Historic District Board of Review this week.
The board looked at plans for 25 E. Broughton, at the intersection with Drayton Street, a drab yellowish building with three storefronts, one of which was a filming location last year for the Spongebob movie filmed in downtown Savannah and on Tybee Island.
Originally a brick façade with big glass windows at the turn of the century, the building had been altered in the ‘60s and covered in stucco. Carter’s team, lead by Patrick Phelps of local firm Hansen Architects , proposed revamping the ground floor for all three storefronts, removing a 70-foot green canopy along Drayton, pushing out a recessed entryway and restoring the upper floor windows which had been filled in, among other retailer specifications.
The historic board’s purview only pertains to a structure’s exterior.
Board member Robin Williams expressed concern about several components, including what he called the plan’s “mongrel blend” of mid-century stucco on the upper structure with a return to the earlier iteration of the storefront on bottom.
“I understand the spirit of this project,” said Williams, “but I have a couple of concerns. There doesn’t appear to be any justification for the removal of awning along Drayton, one of the more interesting things on a relatively simple building, regardless of whether it’s on the historic map.”
A board member asked why Phelps wanted to eliminate the recessed door and push it out further.
“In retail, it’s all about rentable square footage,” Phelps said. “I’m happy to work with staff and continue to develop that as far as what is allowed and more compatible with the recess.”
After about half an hour of debate, Phelps asked for a continuance, which he was granted.
Outside the meeting, Phelps said it was just part of the process. Phelps noted that several of the Broughton projects had already received certificates of appropriateness, the golden stamp that gives the green light to contractors to begin work.
Last month, Carter’s team was granted another continuance from the historic board for a project at 240 W. Broughton, a grayish building connected to the yellow brick McDonald’s. Both buildings were constructed together in 1924 and were originally identical. According to property records, the building was extensively altered and stuccoed over sometime between 1970 and 1980. An empty lot, also under contract, sits on the other side.
A large international clothing retailer, H&M, has been looking to enter the market for a while and requires a bigger footprint, about 30,000 square feet, which that space could afford.
The petition had requested to demolish the building, currently housing the law offices of Wiseman, Blackburn & Futrell, and build a contiguous building with a historic facade, an homage to the former large department stores that used to pepper Broughton at its peak.
According to historical photos, a contiguous building with department store Mangles used to occupy 240 and the adjacent lot, though a fire damaged the eastern building and it was torn down in 1991.
The building at 240 West, as well as 25 East, are listed as non-contributing structures, according to the Historic Building Map, a document voted on by City Council and last updated around 2010.
In preservationist parlance, a “contributing structure” means it is fundamental to the historic integrity of the district and subject to stringent preservation standards. A non-contributing structure would not, in theory at least, be subject to the same level of scrutiny.
Still, the historic board was hesitant, and some questioned its non-contributing status. They instructed Carter’s team to do exploratory demolition on the space and determine whether any of the original façade remains underneath, possibly salvageable.
They also asked Carter’s team to make sure any potential demolition wouldn’t compromise the McDonald’s building next door.
Historic Savannah Foundation President Daniel Carey spoke in favor of the planning commission’s suggestion to explore the structure further.
“We agree with staff’s recommendations in that we don’t want to make some irreversible decision and regret that later,” said Carey. “We need to know with as much certainty as we can get that the building has or does not have enough extant integrity.”
Residential density
Another element of Carter’s proposal is the addition of 80 or so lofts to the upper floors of some of these buildings. Carter isn’t the only person on Broughton who stands to gain from a higher occupancy corridor. The entire street is made up of dozens of building owners, businesses and residents invested in its success.
At the tail end of the Metropolitan Planning Commission meeting Tuesday, the staff propsed a text amendment to the zoning ordinance to eliminate the requirement for minimum lot area per dwelling for mixed-use units along Broughton Street.
In plain English, it would allow more people to live above Broughton stores by permitting upper floor units to be divided into smaller units for rent.
Several commissioners bristled at the amendment and said it was too soon to even consider it before the city had addressed parking.
“My first blush reaction when I read this is that we’re going in the wrong direction,” said Commissioner Murray Marshall. “(It) exacerbates the parking problem already typical of Broughton Street, which damages the commercial activity.”
“First I’ll say Amen again,” said Commissioner James Blackburn in agreement. “I think this is a bad proposal, this is bad planning, this is lack of thought as to the number of people that can be in this small an area and have residential and commercial.”
Blackburn’s Broughton law office is one of the buildings under contract by Carter, the one proposed for demolition.
One commissioner, Susan Myers, said the apartments aren’t geared toward car collectors but to students and young professionals who are more keen on alternative modes of transport.
“I think one way of tackling the parking is to not give residential decals on Broughton Street,” Myers said. “I show these apartments to students, and most of them (commute) by bike.”
The planning commission staff clarified that the city was conducting a comprehensive parking study and that the amendment was an update already included in the so-called NewZo, New Zoning Ordinances, to be reviewed and voted on next year.
The text amendment simply sought to make the change for those who might want to start now and spare them repeat trips to the zoning board for variances.
No one from the developer’s team was present during that meeting, but Carter said there’s great demand for smaller units in downtown Savannah.
“I don’t think we’re asking for anything special. We’re asking for it to be considered about a year ahead of time something that already has support,” said Carter.
Judge said debate around parking is becoming an archaic one.
“There are other modes of transportation besides cars,” said Judge. “I think the people that are living in the urban area don’t have cars, so the focus is wrong, they’re thinking everyone has to have a car.”
“I think where trends are going, people would prefer to spend less time in their automobiles,” said Carter. “My personal view is the city has done a fantastic job with parking. In any good urban environment, it’s a city responsibility.”
Carter is candid about his investment and says the project has cost $10 million thus far.
He spends a few days each week commuting from Atlanta to Savannah to keep close tabs on its progress, as well the Tanger Savannah Outlet Mall under construction in Pooler.
At the outset, Carter acknowledged his vision would take time to execute and says he understands being under the microscope.
“It comes with the territory, and if you don’t listen, you won’t survive,” said Carter.