What do you think about the plans for Broughton St.? (Savannah: apartment, bankrupt)

[Airforceguy]

The Historic board denied Carter's petition to tear down 240 W. Broughton to make way for H&M.
Historic board denies Ben Carter's demolition petiton for Broughton Street building | savannahnow.com

[ellie]

Originally Posted by Airforceguy

The Historic board denied Carter's petition to tear down 240 W. Broughton to make way for H&M.
Historic board denies Ben Carter's demolition petiton for Broughton Street building | savannahnow.com

Good.

[SavannahLife]

Originally Posted by ellie

Good.

Great!

It's not just about one building. It would set precedent. Savannah is unique because of the sheer scale of its historic district. It's huge, and it's nearly 100% authentic in that it's not a checkered area of new and old but has been preserved across the entire town since, well, the beginning..

I like H&M. They can "make it work people", build into the old building. It will be cool! I'd rather shop in the original buildings than new bland ones, probably so would tourists.

[Newsboy]

I dunno. It's an ugly building. And as the story said, if there's not much of the original left, what's the point? On the other hand, it is a duplex and I was curious how they planned to tear down one half and leave McDonald's intact and undamaged.

I just hope this doesn't mean the vacant lot won't get filled in. It's an ugly eyesore that needs to go away. Maybe H&M will be fine with a hybrid new/old building.

[SavannahLife]

Agree, hopefully it's filled in. Same for across the street.

It's not a great looking building but it is historic and would have set a precedent.

But moreover, is the original facade still tucked away under the bland grey exterior? Can they peel back the layers to reveal the original brick? If so, let's go the hybrid route you suggested, where H&M builds new, plus joins it into the existing building to still occupy the footprint of both. Everyone wins.

[WanderingImport]

This may not be such a good thing. If the building's historic integrity is pretty much gone and the cost to reno the building isn't worth it, then what is the point? Okay, so there's an old 1920's vacant useless building sitting on Broughton Street until the end of time. Sure, it looks nice and all, but it makes the land useless.

Not every old building should be deemed "historic"
(EG: The cinder block building on West Bay. Definitely NOT historic)

I disagree with their decision.

[Newsboy]

I'm with WI.

I get the feeling that this was more of a push-back against Carter by the Hysterical Review people rather than a true concern to save something of value. They were just sending him a message.

[WanderingImport]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

I'm with WI.

I get the feeling that this was more of a push-back against Carter by the Hysterical Review people rather than a true concern to save something of value. They were just sending him a message.

If that's the case, get these godda**** good ole boys OUT of these positions. Idiots!

[ellie]

Originally Posted by WanderingImport

If that's the case, get these godda**** good ole boys OUT of these positions. Idiots!

I just looked up the current board's membership. Their chair is a relatively young architect who got his degree at SCAD. Half of them are women, one's an attorney, another is a landscape architect, and a couple are PhD's. Hardly good ole boys.

[Newsboy]

Yeah, the days of Lee and Emma Adler and Esther Shaver controlling everything in the historic district is long in the past.