412 and 414 MLK tear down planned
Applications were recently submitted to demolish 412 and 414 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The buildings would be deconstructed by Re:Purpose Savannah to preserve materials for reuse, according to the applications.
Formerly occupied by B & B Paint Co., the now vacant building at 414 MLK has been owned by Hallex Holdings LLC since 2018, according to property records. The company is based on Tybee Island, according to the state business registration. The building was constructed in 1900 and is not a contributing structure with the historic district, according to a 2014 MPC report.
The building at 412 MLK has been owned by Ashmore Gallery LLC since 2017, according to property records. The company is based in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., according to the state business registration.
There is conflicting information as to whether 412 MLK is a contributing structure within the Savannah Downtown Historic District. The building is shown as a non-contributing structure in the Metropolitan Planning Commission’s contributing properties map, which was last updated in July, 2016. However, a 2018 MPC report says the building, constructed in 1905, is a contributing structure.
A vape shop, Smoke City, operates on the ground floor.
143 Houston Street
The building at 143 Houston St. is being demolished to clear the way for a new restaurant, according to the petition approved at the June 14 Historic District Board of Review meeting.
The building was built in 1976 and is a non-contributing structure within the Downtown Historic District. The building is vacant and is not structurally sound, according to the petition submitted by Mike DeCaire, with Savannah-based Wakely Properties.
Preliminary design plans were included with the June 14 demolition petition, but were not part of the review. The submitted conceptual plans show a proposed two story structure that the petition states will house a fine dining restaurant.
Wakely Properties purchased the property for about $1.5 million in December 2022, according to property records.
Bowling below historic Woolworths building
The planned renovation of the historic Woolworths building at 131 East Broughton St. includes a bowling alley in the basement, according to a recently submitted site development plan. The street level will be shell space while the second and third floors will be condominiums, according to the plans.
Keith Howington, with Greenline Architecture, stated during a 2022 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, as previously reported. The rehab plans for the ground floor and up were approved by the Historic District Board of Review on Sept. 14, 2022.
410 E. 37th St.
On Thursday, the Savannah City Council approved a special-use petition sought as part of the latest plan to rehabilitate the historic service station building on the corner of 37th and Price streets. The special use permit will allow the owners to move forward with plans to restore the building for use as a general store with beer and wine sales for onsite and offsite consumption.
