Savannah’s burgers per capita may soon increase with the addition of a downtown Steak ‘n Shake.
Patrick Shay of Gunn Meyerhoff and Shay Architecture presented plans Wednesday to the Historic District Board of Review for a three-story commercial building on the southeast corner of Jefferson and West Congress streets.
Initial plans show the first floor would be used as a restaurant, the second floor as office space and the third floor as a partially covered rooftop terrace.
Shay did not specify the restaurant, but a public records request yielded correspondence between a sign company affiliated with the burger franchise and the city's planning staff.
The lot at 229 W. Congress St. is nestled behind City Market and the backside of the Broughton Street McDonald's and is used as a private parking lot.
The previous owners, the law partners at Callaway, Braun, Riddle & Hughes, P.C., sold it to a company called 229 W SNS, LLC in late July for $1 million, according to property records.
The company's registered agent on file is Quito Anderson, CEO of Ben Carter Enterprises.
This would be the second Steak ‘n Shake franchise in the Savannah area, following one that opened on Pooler Parkway in January. It would also join burger chains B&D Burgers, Five Guys and McDonald’s in the increasingly beef-saturated Landmark District.
The review board OK'd initial plans for the height and mass of the building with instructions to reduce the height of the awning on the third floor after some board members expressed concerns with its visibility.
“It's a highly visible feature. Is it visually compatible with anything else in the neighborhood?” asked board member Reed Engle.
“We are prepared to reduce the overall height by about two feet. We think it will be less obtrusive and visible of the street,” said Shay. “Of course, we don't want to make it invisible. The restaurant would like its patrons to know there is a space for them to go on the roof to dine."
Design and architectural details will be reviewed in the second part of the process.
230 W. Broughton St.
Earlier Wednesday, the review board gave a much warmer reception to developer Ben Carter's revised plans for a new four-story building that would be leased by international clothing retailer H&M at 230 W. Broughton St.
The developer's team continued its petition from Aug. 13 to address issues with the building's overall height, the storefront entrance and stylistic differences between the upper and lower floors.
Patrick Phelps of Hansen Architects presented the changes, including a height and width increase of the three-bayed storefront, a reduction of overall height from 66 feet to 61 feet and the addition of awnings to the first and second story.
“We're increasing … the monumentality of the entrance,” Phelps told board members.
The building will sit on the empty lot at 230 and at 240 W. Broughton, currently occupied by the former law offices of Wiseman, Blackburn & Futrell. That gray building is slated for demolition after a legal challenge by the Historic Savannah Foundation was dropped last month.
Members of the review board lauded the revised rendering as a significant improvement.
“It's elegant, simple and unique,” said board chair Keith Howington.
“It's a really strong improvement,” said Robin Williams. “I applaud what you've done.”
“This to me, proportionally, looks right,” said Reed Engle.
The board voted to approve the height and mass of the building 8-0. Like the building at 229 W. Congress St., the design details will be reviewed at a later meeting.