Suitcases will apparently be replacing briefcases at another downtown office building, following Marriott’s acquisition of the HunterMaclean building at 200 East Saint Julian St.
The hotel chain purchased the 5-story building for $18.7 million on Aug. 4, according to sales records.
The 143-year law firm for which the building is named expects to remain at the location for at least a year or two, according to HunterMaclean partner Shawn Kachmar.
Marriott did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday regarding the purchase.
The building east of Reynolds Square was constructed in 1959 but is not a contributing resource, according to the Metropolitan Planning Commission’s 2011 listing of contributing resources. The future hotel is located across the street of a new Tempo brand hotel being built by Hilton at 220 E. Bryan St., where the former GBI headquarters office building was recently demolished for that project.
The building is also only a few blocks from the Manger building in Johnson Square, which is also being converted into a hotel by New York-based LEFT LANE. The rehabilitation of that building was approved by the Historic District Board of Review at their Aug. 9 meeting. In addition to the rehab, LEFT LANE plans to construct an event venue next to the building.
“The Mighty Fortress” church sells downtown properties
St. John Baptist Church, known as “The Mighty Fortress,” sold a historic residential property at 501 East Huntingdon St. on Aug. 4 for $1.25 million according to sales records. The sale to Savannah-based Ronald K. Horton Holdings LLC also included three vacant parcels east of the historic house.
The buyer is going to renovate the house into a high-end single family residence, said Seabolt Real Estate's Taavo Roos, who represented both the buyer and seller in the off-market transaction.
"It needs everything on the inside," Roos said. "Architecturally I think it's pretty incredible so when that is brought back to life and totally redone, and everything is kept historically the way it should, I think it's going to be a pretty awesome property."
The 3-story home on Price and Huntington was previously being used by the church as a rental property, commonly by film crews when in town working on productions, Roos said.
Roos said Wednesday he could not comment at this time on the church's plans for its other properties in that area.
In a previous Colliers International listing, from 2018, the building was being offered for sale by itself or as part of a larger portfolio spanning three blocks that included five buildings and the three vacant lots. The sales record did not include any of the church's other area buildings which include the former church building on Hartridge St. and St John's Villa Apartments senior housing complex at East Broad and Gaston streets.
Built in 1890, the building is a contributing structure within Savannah’s Downtown Historic District, according to the Metropolitan Planning Commission’s historic resources listing. A horror movie titled “The Accursed” received permits to film at the historic home and a couple other locations in 2021.
St. John Baptist Church was established in 1885 and the congregation of former slaves erected the original church building at 526-528 Hartridge St. in 1891, according to the website. The original building was destroyed by a fire in 1993 before a new church building was built at the site. The church relocated in 2017 to 2415 East DeRenne Avenue.
Rehab of downtown mansion approved
The planned restoration of the historic mansion at 127 E. Gordon St. was approved by the Historic District Board of Review last week. The approval came after the board postponed their vote on the proposal when it was first presented in June due to concerns about an aspect of the plan that includes the demolition of a newer addition on the mansion’s west side.
The main structure at 127 East Gordon Street was constructed 1856, while a 3-story wood porch was added sometime between 1898 and 1916, according to the petitioner’s report. That porch was then bricked in to become a 3-story masonry addition between 1937 and 1954, which is the structure proposed for demolition.
The petitioners, Erik Puljong with Hansen Architects, and consultant Ellen Harris with Ethos Preservation, said that, while it was built in the period of significance, the addition is not historically significant since it does not meet all the other requirements to be considered a “contributing” historic structure.
The addition is not associated with an important event or person, it does not embody distinctive characteristics or have high artist value, and it is unlikely to yield additional information important to history or prehistory, Harris said.
The condition of the structure, which has a 3-inch gap between it and the original portion of the house due to inadequate foundation footings, would make preservation difficult as well, according to the petitioners.
The footings were appropriate for the original porch but not the masonry building that was added later, Harris said.
“They are undersized and have sunk into the ground and are pushing it away,” Harris said. “You can’t push it back.”
Puljong added that much of the addition’s materials would have to be replaced to successfully restore the structure.
The building previously housed apartments and the The Book Gift Store on the ground level, which sold “Midnight and the Garden of Good and Evil” merchandise until closing in 2012. The new owners are planning on using it as their primary residence, Puljong said.
This article appears in Connect Savannah | August, 2023.
