By Eric Curl
Sept. 14, 2022 update – The rehab project was approved by the Historic District Board of Review at their meeting on Sept. 14.
Sept. 11, 2022 – Planet Fun is on the ground level, a Savannah entrepreneurial success story. There’s also a Subway franchise next door. But the top two stories of 131 East Broughton St. have remained vacant since the 50’s-era building’s original tenant, a Woolworths, shut down.
Now the new owner is planning to rehab the building’s two top floors. Property records show the building was purchased for $4.1 million in June by a local corporation, CL Lane Holdings, and then portions were subsequently sold to LLCs in Boston, Mass. and Portland, Maine.
Located at the southwest intersection of Broughton and Abercorn, the historic building will also get a covered rooftop patio reserved for the residents of the structure, under the plan submitted by the project’s architect, Savannah-based Greenline Architecture.
While a narrative submitted for the project stated the rehab was for residential use, Keith Howington, with Greenline Architecture, stated during a June 8 review board meeting that the rehabbed upper stories would serve as a small hotel, according to the meeting minutes. Sales records also show that a portion of the property was purchased by an LLC that shares an address with a Boston-based vacation rental company, Stay Heirloom, which rents out multiple properties in Savannah and throughout the country.
Howington said on Sept. 15 he could not speak about the owner’s plans for the building but would provide them with my contact information. This article will be updated if the owners respond.
The rooftop addition was approved, with some conditions, back in June by the Savannah Historic District Board of Review. The review board postponed consideration of the full rehab in order for the architect to make some design changes, including reducing the number of new window openings. Those recommended changes have since been made and staff is now recommending the review board approve the rehab when the project returns for consideration on Wednesday.
The Savannah Historic District Board of Review meets at 1 p.m. Wednesday at 112 E. State St. The meetings can also be viewed remotely, but registration is required for access to the remote meeting.
The full agenda for the Sept. 14 meeting is now available to view.
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Sept. 16 to reflect new information regarding the owner’s potential plans for the property.