In 1995, Jane Fishman wrote a column titled “New shops blooming on Broughton,” which detailed two independent retailers opening on the same block.
Jane’s column also discussed the “cluster strategy” being aggressively pursued by the 2-year-old Savannah Development and Renewal Authority: “Restaurants on one block. Antiques on another. Furniture on another.”
Reflecting a commonly held view around town at the time, one of the retailers said, “We’re not going to get the clothing stores back from the malls.”
Of course, Gap and Banana Republic opened on Broughton Street several years later, and similar national retailers had the resurgent corridor in their sights.
The progression has not been an even one over the years, but the general direction has been clear.
In a 2006 City Talk column, I noted “a wave of new stores in the 300 block of West Broughton, including The Athlete’s Foot and American Apparel.” Both of those chains have long since closed.
“Viewed over a period of years, Broughton Street is clearly moving in a more upscale, more residential, more vibrant direction,” I wrote in that same 2006 column. “Recently, various market forces have led to the departure of successful Broughton businesses, but even those moves can be seen as good news because they might help revitalize other parts of town.”
The pace of change on Broughton was slowed dramatically by the 2007-2009 recession, but we’re seeing similar dynamics in 2014. Small retailers who recently left Broughton have revitalized other downtown neighborhoods.
We continue to see new chain stores enter the Broughton Street market, but, as I have noted in numerous columns in recent years, some of the key spaces on the street are still occupied by locally owned businesses.
So, in important respects, we should see the work of Ben Carter Enterprises as a continuation of longstanding trends. Stores like J.Crew have long been rumored to be interested in Broughton Street, so it’s not surprising when a savvy developer like Carter seals the deal.
But we’d likely be seeing similar developments even if Carter were not in the picture. Free People, Kate Spade and Anthropologie all opened downtown Savannah stores in 2013 without any apparent involvement with Carter.
Still, Ben Carter Enterprises has brought new issues to the table.
By controlling so many properties and by having existing contacts with so many national retailers, Carter is in a strong position to market Broughton Street as a whole, to implement a new sort of “cluster strategy” and to make fairly rapid moves.
Carter also controls enough properties that he has to be taken seriously when he calls for streetscape enhancements.
I don’t know whether political leaders will embrace Carter’s recently announced plans for a tax allocation district (TAD) and a community improvement district (CID) on key blocks of Broughton Street, but there seems little doubt we need to make improvements to the streetscape.
Many Savannahians have been talking about the problem for years.
In a 2013 column about the filming of the upcoming “SpongeBob” movie, I argued that Salty Shoals represented a nice change from the usually bland Broughton streetscape. I noted, for example, that the film set’s brightly colored planters spruced up the sidewalk.
In a 2012 column about Blick Art Materials, I touched upon the need to address streetscape issues in the 300 block of East Broughton. That block and others further east have gotten far less attention over the years than the blocks west of Lincoln Street.
Of course, Carter’s proposed CID and TAD would not include any of those blocks east of Lincoln Street.
Yes, the commercial intensity and the foot traffic drop off as one travels east, but does that mean we should embrace a tax district that establishes a firm boundary?
For the record, I think we need more resources committed to streetscape improvements along the entire length of Broughton Street, including east of East Broad Street, where Charles Morris and his Randolph Street Development firm have some great things in the works.
But is the city committed to those improvements? Without dedicated tax funding, will investors be able to count on city officials to create a more vibrant and cohesive streetscape on any stretch of Broughton?
If not, then the proposed TAD is definitely worth consideration. The proposed CID, however, might prove a difficult burden for current property owners and might lead to higher rents.
We’ll be following these debates closely here at City Talk.
It’s going to be especially interesting to see how the political debate plays out, especially since city officials are already facing a number of simmering controversies.
More on that in a future column.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 East 32nd St., Savannah, Ga. 31401.