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Atlanta Developer Poised to Open New Savannah Hotel in April 2015

SAVANNAH, Ga. (Oct. 8, 2014) - Savannah's newest Historic District hotel is on track to open in the spring, though it won't be open in time for the massive 2015 St. Patrick's Day festivities.

Homewood Suites Savannah Historic District/Riverfront will open in April 2015, according to Hilton's online reservation system. The 162-key hotel is rising between the eastern edge of Bay Street and the Savannah River.

Buckhead-based North Point Hospitality Group is developing the new Homewood Suites as part of River Street East, a $150 million mixed-use development that eventually could comprise "multiple hotels, retail space, riverfront dining with captivating views of the Savannah River and a 500-space parking structure, all wholly owned and operated by North Point Hospitality Group," the company's Website says.

I snapped the construction photo above while in Savannah as part of The Wilbert Group's engagement with Ben Carter Enterprises, which itself is in the middle of a major Savannah development, the Broughton Street Collection. Look for updates on that project soon and in the local, regional and national press.

A rendering of the hotel and River Street East appears below.

Former Jamestown Colleagues Form Third & Urban, an Atlanta-based Development Firm

SAVANNAH, Ga. (July 17, 2014) - Having helped Jamestown make Atlanta's Ponce City Market and Savannah's One West Victory mixed-use projects early successes, Pierce Lancaster and Hank Farmer have formed a new development firm of their own.

Third & Urban LLC already is busy working with Ben Carter, whose $75 million restoration of Savannah's historic Broughton Street is well under way. Lancaster and Farmer also are scouting other cities in the Southeast for additional projects.

Here's the press release The Wilbert Group just issued about Thid & Urban's formation and partnership with Ben Carter Enterprises.

Former Jamestown Colleagues Announce New Adaptive Reuse and Urban Infill Development Firm, Third & Urban

Atlanta Company’s First Project is Partnership with Ben Carter Enterprises in Savannah

 

ATLANTA (July 16, 2014) – Hank Farmer and Pierce Lancaster, former Jamestown colleagues who built their careers working on high-profile urban infill and adaptive-reuse projects, have formed Third & Urban. The new firm will focus on the development of similar projects in the Southeast, eyeing markets from Virginia to Louisiana that exhibit a high quality of life, a strong workforce and consistent job growth. Third & Urban will also serve as a consultant to other developers.

Third & Urban already is consulting on a major urban redevelopment project: Ben Carter Enterprises’ $75 million redevelopment of Broughton Street, the once-thriving business hub of Savannah, Georgia’s downtown Historic District. A portion of Third & Urban’s scope is the programming of spaces above the street-level retail, which will bring additional energy to the new district Carter is looking to create. Likely uses include a mix of open and loft offices, micro offices, residential, hotel and more. Together, Carter and Third & Urban are working to return Broughton Street to its former glory.

“We see the trend of moving back to urban centers as one that is here to stay,” Farmer said. “Supporting local economies while restoring historic and underutilized buildings is a way to create vibrant places while contributing to the fabric of cities.”

The experience of Farmer and Lancaster lends itself nicely to assist Ben Carter in realizing his vision for Broughton Street.

“Ben and his team have an exciting project underway in Savannah that aligns well with our goals and vision for urban environments,” Lancaster added. “We are excited to work with them on what will be a game-changing project for the City of Savannah. It is a great opportunity.”

“As valued members of the Jamestown team, Pierce and Hank had the great opportunity to learn from a best-in-class real estate and investment company that has been a real leader in urban redevelopment,” Carter said. “As demographics and social trends continue to value and embrace urban spaces for living, working and playing, Third & Urban’s unique experience and expertise will stand out.”

Lancaster, who spent six years at Jamestown most recently as a Vice President, oversaw a range of mixed-use, retail and residential projects from New York to Miami. Farmer, who was a Development Manager at Jamestown, played a vital role in the firm’s landmark Ponce City Market redevelopment in Atlanta and also spearheaded its One West Victory mixed-use development in Savannah.

“Pierce and Hank were key team members on several high-profile deals while at Jamestown,” said Matt M. Bronfman, CEO at Jamestown. “We wish them the best of luck and are confident that they will be successful in their new endeavor.” 

About Third & Urban:

Atlanta-based Third & Urban is a new real estate development and advisory firm focused on urban infill and adaptive reuse projects in the Southeastern United States. The firm seeks development opportunities in markets that exhibit a high quality of life, a strong workforce and consistent job growth. Third & Urban also is advising Ben Carter Enterprises on the latter’s Broughton Street redevelopment in downtown Savannah, Georgia, a $75 million project that will create one of the Southeast’s premier urban retail destinations.

Hank Farmer and Pierce Lancaster, both previously with Jamestown, an Atlanta-based private equity firm focused on commercial real estate, are the co-founders of Third & Urban.

Lancaster served as a Vice President at Jamestown, where he managed a range of value-add and opportunistic projects across various product types. Farmer was a Development Manager at the firm and played a vital role in the creation of Ponce City Market, the largest adaptive reuse project in Atlanta history, and One West Victory, a mixed-use development in Savannah.

For more information, contact Farmer at [email protected] or Lancaster at [email protected].

Atlanta Developer Wins Key Vote in Restoration of Historic Savannah Retail District

SAVANNAH, Ga. (June 27, 2014) - Atlanta developer Ben Carter won a key vote yesterday that will enable him to continue his work restoring and returning Savannah's famous Broughton Street to its past retail glory. The city's Zoning Board of Appeals overturned an earlier vote by the Savannah Historic District Board of Review to demolish a building that has been covered in stucco to make room for a new building that will better fit with Broughton Street's architectural fabric.

Here's the full story of Ben Carter's vision for Broughton Street.

SAVANNAH, Ga., June 26, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ben Carter Enterprises has acquired 27 properties on Broughton Street in Savannah's Historic District and has begun work on renovating and restoring all but one of them. The firm is planning varying levels of renovations and repairs including exterior repairs, façade restorations, new exterior storefronts, entry modifications, an awning replacement and roof deck improvements. Only one building will be demolished.

The team Carter has assembled is pursuing its overall vision of returning Broughton Street to a vibrant community with art, music, cultural events and enlightening experiences. Broughton Street's retail offerings will be divided into different districts: Fashion, Casual Fashion, Contemporary and Lifestyle. The retailers and restaurateurs will be clustered in areas of the street based on style, ranging from upscale to bohemian.

"Our goal is to attract the best retailers and chef-driven restaurants to downtown Savannah," said Ben Carter, founder of Ben Carter Enterprises. "The area has deep history and inherent charm already, and we look forward to bringing the street back to its former glory and vitality. We will give both residents and tourists a new reason to come downtown, by making Broughton Street a place with beautiful streetscapes where you can visit, stroll, shop, dine and just be."

Karen Guinn, a key member of the Carter team, said, "We are not building a project that will have one grand opening, but rather renovating a district, so the progress and the milestones will be rolling, with a steady stream of openings between now and March 2015."

Carter's investment to the restoration of Broughton Street is unprecedented. "What Ben Carter is doing in Savannah is a huge undertaking and shows he has made a commitment that previous Broughton Street landlords have been unwilling or unable to do," Guinn said. "Ben could have acquired the properties and filled them with tenants without upgrading the properties. But that's not the way he works. He cares about improving the communities where he does business. Also, he recently moved into an apartment right on Broughton."

Plans at the Broughton Street district continue to crystalize. Along the street, several dumpsters are located outside buildings that are being cleaned out, renovated and restored. As part of Carter's $75 million project, a substantial portion is dedicated to ensure buildings are returned to a structurally sound state and made up-to-date with life-and-fire-safety regulations. The team is cleaning out several buildings that have not been occupied in 50 years and has found artifacts that exhibit the important role the properties play in Savannah's history.

"In 25 E. Broughton St., we found a 1940s Certificate of Appreciation to the President of the Lion's Club," Guinn said.

As part of the jurisdiction review, Carter currently has buildings under review for internal renovations, façade renovation and façade replacement. Carter also has filed an appeal of the denial of his application to demolish the building at 240 W. Broughton so he can develop a four-story retail and residential building reminiscent of the old Chatham Furniture Building that stood on the site before a fire destroyed it. This building is the only one Carter would like to demolish. All others will be restored.

Carter's team has a signed letter of intent and is in lease negotiation with an international retailer that provides high-fashion apparel at affordable prices. The retailer requires 30,000 square feet and will occupy the basement and additional three floors. The demo request is being made to provide the retailer with a consistent, architecturally attractive store.

Carter said, "The retailer we are working with is at the top of the list for an anchor department store in urban areas around the world. They have prominent locations in D.C., New York, London and now they want to be here, in Savannah- that speaks volumes for this City and for Broughton Street.

"Historically Broughton Street has housed famous department stores such as Sears, J.C. Penny and Belk. It is my sincere hope that the people of Savannah will understand how important a retail anchor like this is to urban revitalization."

The team also announced J. Crew, L'Occitane and The Ancient Olive will open their first Savannah store in Carter properties on historic Broughton Street. The addition of the three new retailers is part of Carter's vision for his firm's Broughton Street project, a redevelopment of the historic, urban, walkable street in the heart of Savannah.

The Broughton portfolio consists of 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurant spaces along Broughton Street between Jefferson and Drayton streets. Ben Carter Enterprises also plans to turn the upper floors of the recently acquired street spaces into approximately 100 urban-style loft apartments, offices and creative spaces for students and young professionals.

About Ben Carter Enterprises, a client of The Wilbert Group

Ben Carter Enterprises is a full-service, commercial real estate firm that specializes in retail and mixed-use projects throughout the Southeast. The premier properties and outlets firm is currently underway on the development of the Outlet Mall of Savannah, a $200 million project; the "Broughton Street" Project portfolio, a $75 million project; and the Outlet Mall of Augusta. The firm has developed $3 billion in retail and mix-use properties in the Southeast comprising of over 4 million square feet. The company's most notable projects include the St. John's Town Center, an upscale retail and mixed-use community in Jacksonville, Fla., and the Mall of Georgia in Buford, Ga., one of the first mall properties to incorporate an outdoor village featuring retail and restaurants surrounding a green space and entertainment area. For more information about Ben Carter Enterprises, please contact (404) 869-7100 or visit www.bencarterenterprises.com.

CONTACT: For more information, contact:
         Tony Wilbert
         The Wilbert Group
         404-254-1487 (O) 404-405-3656 (C)
         [email protected]

Atlanta Developer's Sale of Jacksonville Mall Sets Mark For Retail Real Estate Sales

ATLANTA (June 11, 2014) - Atlanta developer and retail visionary Ben Carter just sold his stake in an upscale Jacksonville mall for a great price. Carter developed St. Johns Town Center and successfully persauded retailers including Apple, Louis Vuitton and soon Nordstrom to take space or build at the superregional mall.

Carter sold his 50 percent ownership stake in St. Johns Town Center to Deutsche Asset and Wealth Management, a unit of Deutsche Bank formerly known as RREEF. (Simon Property Group, the huge REIT, owns the other 50 percent and will continue to lease and manage St. Johns Town Center.)

The price for half of the 1.2 million-square-foot center was more than $375 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

That's a big number and is emblematic of investors' desire for malls with high occupancy rates and top-notch clients. The transaction highlights Carter's real estate savvy and vision. He built an upscale mall in a secondary market and filled it with primary-market tenants. Then, he sold at the right time. The Wilbert Group is thrilled to be working with him.

Here's more from Robbie Whelan's story in the Journal.

Mr. Carter, who also has property investments in Atlanta and Savannah, Ga., said in an interview he sold his stake in the Jacksonville mall because he wants to focus on different projects. He also said he thought he could get a good price because there are few high-quality, superregional malls on the market.

"My new business strategy is outlet malls and urban development. I don't see a great need in the Southeast for regional malls," Mr. Carter said. "They're not making these assets anymore. There are very few of them in private hands, and the premium assets don't really trade."

St. Johns Town Center had an occupancy rate of 99% and sales of between $650 and $700 a square foot last year, according to Mr. Carter and brokers who worked on the deal.

 

Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management, formerly known as RREEF, has $47 billion in assets under management in its real-estate investment business and invests in publicly traded real-estate investment trusts, private equity and debt, in addition to making direct property investments across the globe.

In a 2014 strategic outlook report produced by Deutsche in February, the company observed that "the split between the best- and worst-performing shopping centers grows ever wider and seems to be enduring," and said that it prefers to invest in "dominant regional malls and unique retail offerings" such as urban "high street" retail.

Green Street Advisors, a Newport Beach, Calif.-based real-estate research firm, estimates that last year, the highest-quality malls in the country, dubbed "A++" malls, produced $945 in sales a square foot of space. D-malls, the lowest-quality grade, produced $140 a square foot last year. Based on its sales per square foot last year, St. Johns Town Center would fall somewhere between an A and A+-rated mall.

The sale to Deutsche is "a good sign for owners who have this quality of properties in their portfolios," said Daniel Busch, an analyst who covers retail real estate for Green Street. "All the focus recently has been on selling low quality properties, the B malls. That's what's been on the market. These high-end transactions are few and far between. This transaction gives us a lot of confidence that values are holding up at the high end."

 

 

Atlanta developer Ben Carter has huge plans for downtown Savannah

Wow, Atlanta developer Ben Carter has huge plans for downtown Savannah. Here's the scoop from Eric Curl and Julia Ritchey of the Savannah Morning News.

 

By ERIC CURL and JULIA RITCHEY

 

Atlanta developer Ben Carter outlined a $75 million plan Thursday to return Savannah’s historic downtown Broughton Street to its former glory as a shopping and dining hub.

Carter told the Savannah City Council he wants to buy 24 properties as part of his plan and already has two with contracts on 22 more.

His plan includes retail, dining and residential. By having control of so many properties, desirable businesses are easier to attract because they often want to have compatible neighbors, he said.

Carter said he wants to bring in a mixture of local and national businesses, as well as higher-end and less costly ones.

“America shops all kinds of price points,” he said.

The project is a work in progress, said Carter, who is scheduled to hold a 1 p.m. briefing Tuesday on the project.

The City Council was generally enthusiastic about the project and its potential to revitalize the street and create jobs.

Mayor Edna Jackson said it was important to lure new businesses but wanted to make sure existing businesses are not driven out.

Alderman Tony Thomas said he had some concerns about a lack of parking, but Alderman John Hall said the issue should not get in the way. Anyway, Hall said, he would prefer people walk or use pedicabs to get around.

Alderman Van Johnson said public transit should also be considered as an alternative to driving.

Alderman Tom Bordeaux said he would welcomed the challenge if it meant greater investment on the street.

“That’s our job,” he said. “We’ll find parking.”

“If you want me to do parking, I’ve got to go home,” Carter said. “I can’t do parking.”

“Bear in mind that these buildings have been here for 200 years,” Carter said. “All we are trying to do is improve the occupancy.”

 

Mixed reactions from Broughton Street businesses

Business owners along Broughton Street expressed mixed emotions about Carter’s plans Thursday afternoon.

Carter alluded to King Street in Charleston as an inspiration for Broughton’s revitalization as well as his own background developing upscale shopping malls. Charleston’s main strip is packed full of high-end retailers such as Brooks Brothers, Bebe and Benetton.

Without disclosing any names, he said he already had given tours to 30 national retailers interested in Savannah’s downtown.

Many of the Broughton shopkeepers who were interviewed are longtime tenants who’ve seen the ups and downs of the downtown corridor. Some expressed doubts about parking and the ability to maintain a healthy mix of local stores and national chains, while others welcomed the outside investment and proposed upgrades.

One of the buildings sold to Carter is 223 Broughton, which is home to Savannah Goods American Craftsman Gallery and has windows filled with going-out of-business signs.

Manager Jane Gogh said she felt positive about any plans to improve Broughton, but warned that Savannah should do more to support locally owned, independent stores already there.

Joseph Dabit, owner of The Mens Store by Joseph at 28 W. Broughton, said he was approached by Carter last November to sell his buildings. Dabit is also part owner of 26 W. Broughton, and his parents own 22 W. Broughton, currently occupied by Copper Penny and Shooz.

“As of now, I have no plans to sell,” said Dabit. “We’ve been here 24, 25 years. We’ve seen the worst, and if it’s going to get better, we want to be part of it.”

Longtime owners of Gina’s Beauty Supply store, Michael and Sandra Rhee, took differing views. They’ve been in their current location at 25 W. Broughton for about 25 years.

“It will be kind of like a monopoly,” said Sandra. “He needs to take time and not rush it too much. I’m concerned it’s going to be all big chains.”

Michael agreed that mom and pop stores may not be able to survive if property taxes and rents go up, but said overall he felt positive about upgrading the street.

“He’s going to pay a lot of property taxes, so he deserves to request some assistance from the city and state,” said Michael, whose parents own their building and another one across the street.

 

Upgraded streetscape

Some of Carter’s sketches presented to the council showed wrought-iron planters, additional trees, benches and reconfigured crosswalks. He’s asking the city to pitch in to upgrade the streetscape.

One of his proposals includes putting a garden planter on each corner and removing a parking bay in order to shorten the crosswalks for pedestrians.

“Parking is the biggest drawback for all businesses,” said Shaun Mirch, manager of the New York Boutique at 127 Broughton. “Every time we have a customer that wants to shop, they’re worried in the back of their mind that they can’t shop peacefully because they’re scared of getting a parking ticket.”

Shaun and his wife Madhuri Mirch said they have been on Broughton since 1977. Their lease is up in their current location next to the Marshall House, and they’re not sure whether the owners plan to sell the building.

They have bought a building at 19 W. Broughton to relocate and said they will not sell it. They said Carter had been approaching nearly everyone on the street.

“It’s going to cause properties and rents to go sky-high, so the only people that will be able to afford those rents are the national chains,” said Shaun. “That’s happening now. If you look 30 or 20 years ago, you used to have a lot of local, independent stores. Now it’s all tourists, and there’s no local customers coming hardly.”

Jimmy Parker of J. Parker Ltd men’s clothing store has been on Broughton for 40 years and in his present location in the SunTrust building for 10. Parker said the rumors about Carter’s plans have been circulating for quite some time.

He said an Ann Taylor and H&M were supposed to go into the building across from him at 15 W. Broughton that formerly was occupied by Shipwreck Restaurant & Lounge and Fuddrucker’s.

“I’m mixed about it because it’s a two-way street,” said Parker, who said he’s in favor of a vibrant downtown but not in favor of pushing out the little guy. “Fortunately … I’ve got a nice long-term lease and good terms.”

Asked about parking concerns with an influx of retailers, Parker said it’s always going to be a problem.

“Parking has been an issue since ’62 when I started working at Levy’s (Jewelers), which is SCAD Library now, and you couldn’t park then,” said Parker.

Adam Turoni, proprietor of Chocolat by Adam Turoni, said he felt positive about Carter’s proposal.

“I’m extremely excited, I welcome the expansion and revitalization of Broughton,” said Turoni, who closed on his building about a year ago at 323 W. Broughton. “I hope they keep a little bit of a balance, we don’t want to see the small guys go away.”

Carter sought to allay concerns about tenant mix and his visions for the streetscape during the council meeting.

“We’re not saying take it or leave it. We’re saying let’s dream together and see what we can do,” said Carter.

Carter’s own portfolio includes four million square feet of retail projects such as the Mall of Georgia in Gwinnett County, upscale St. John’s Town Center in Jacksonville, Fla., the future Tanger Savannah in Pooler and a similar project announced Wednesday in Augusta.

 

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