The Historic District Board of Review got its first glimpse of developer Ben Carter's plans for 230-240 W. Broughton St. on Wednesday, nearly a month and a half after the zoning board cleared the way for demolition of an existing building at that site.
Architect Patrick Phelps presented renderings of the proposed four-story building that would be 92 feet wide and 66 feet high. The space will be occupied by international fashion retailer H&M and would include residential apartments on the fourth floor.
In his presentation, Phelps referenced historic and current four-story buildings on Broughton, including the Chatham Furniture building that once occupied the vacant lot at 230. The building suffered extensive fire damage and was torn down in 1991.
“I feel like the height of the building, even though it's a four-story building, is compatible with historic and existing buildings on Broughton,” said Phelps.
The developer and his team had previously sought approval to raze 240 West Broughton, the gray building connected to McDonald's, to make way for this larger contiguous building. The historic board denied his petition for demolition in May, a decision overturned June 26 by the zoning appeals board. The Historic Savannah Foundation is appealing that decision in court.
Planning staff recommended approval of the height and mass of the new building Wednesday, but with the caveat that its overall height be reduced to be more visually compatible with its neighbors, both of which are two stories.
Many members of the board agreed with staff, also citing visual compatibility factors.
“Just because you're allowed to build to four stories doesn't guarantee you will be able to,” said board member Reed Engle.
Others said they were less concerned with height than the building's monolithic and flat appearance.
“This could be one of the more prominent landmark buildings of this end of the street, and I think there's real opportunity here to make, in some manner, a grander gesture with the entrance,” said board member Robin Williams.
During public comment, developer Michael Brown spoke about his concerns over the proposal. Brown said he had ownership interest in four buildings on that particular block and was also in deals with Carter over three other parcels he owns.
“The developer has been extremely supportive of existing buildings and very sensitive to the preservation of existing parts … and taken an enormous amount of expense to expose original facades,” said Brown. “Unfortunately, I'm not too supportive of this project in that this request is for additional cubic feet … (which) is strictly being requested for economic reasons.”
Brown said Carter also should reconsider tearing down 240 West Broughton.
“I request that the review board give time to the developer to convince the tenant to review the additional cubic feet and also to convince the tenant of the value of retaining the portion of the existing building,” he said.
Brown also encouraged Carter's team to reconsider increasing the recessed entryway from three feet, citing World of Beer and Ruan Thai, two of Brown's buildings, where he maintained deep terrazzo recesses for their historical character.
All new construction within the historic district must go through a two-part review, the first for height and mass, the second for design details. The process can span several months depending on the project's size and scope.
The board voted to grant Phelps a continuance to reconsider some issues with the building's mass.