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N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 6 / S C T 31 and some 75 percent was actually op- erating. About 90 percent of the resi- dential units are leased too. Carter's development tapped into several hot buttons for the retailers. First was Savannah's robust economy, fueled by some 13 million tourists per year and one of the country's largest ports. "Being a part of these urban proj- ects and exposing your brand to Mil- lennials and baby boomers at the same time is a somewhat unique opportunity, and it's happen- ing in spots all over America," said Carter. "I think it's one of the real strategic benefits of being part of a successful urban renewal." Most important, retail- ers were drawn to Carter's proven ability to control the real estate. "In retail, being able to tell a retailer who their neighbors are going to be and being able to put together a critical mass of new retail- ers tends to give them all a comfort factor," said Carter. "We were able to communicate to the retail world that we can control the destiny here, and, luckily, the retailers embraced the vision." Anderson cites the importance of the project's curated aspect. "You have to curate a very eclectic mix of retailers; you can't just replicate the mall in the city," said Anderson. "You have to have the national re- tailers that drive sales, you have to have local retailers who drive unique opportunities, and then you have to have the regional players who are looking for expansion and growth. Each of those things creates a symbi- otic relationship." Ultimately, here was a test unlike any Carter had ever faced in his long career. "It's been two to three years of a lot of lessons learned," he said. "When you come in and you assem- ble multiple buildings in somebody else's hometown, there are a whole lot of people that are naysayers and are concerned about what you're go- ing to do," said Carter. "You have to be very aware of that and sensitive to that. People who took the time to get to know us and know that I love history and have an appreciation for it came around." It was also a lesson in flexibility for most of the retailers involved. "We've been very fortunate with the retailers that we have been working with that they have embraced this concept of urban revitalization and they know that they can't put their typical white box in here," said An- derson. "There is a phrase from the Marines: 'Adapt and overcome' — and Ben and I have done that through this whole process. We had to take each building, and once we started pulling back the layers of the onion and seeing what we had, we had to work with the retailers hand in hand to adapt their plans, and that's made each space unique and special." Working with the city involved some give and take for both sides. "The number of permits we were bringing to the table was more than they had seen in a long time, so they had to bring in extraditers and re- vamp their whole system," said Anderson. "City of- ficials were generally sup- portive, and they are 100 percent behind us now that they've seen the finished product. They can tell we are taking their historical buildings and return- ing them to their glory days, with a mixture of retailers that are both national and local, and we are revi- talizing the upstairs that hadn't been touched in 60 years, which is huge." Of course, replicating the Sa- vannah experience will always be a colossal undertaking, but Carter is nonetheless seeking similar opportu- nities in other cities. "It's very rare to assemble and be able to control that much of the market," he said, "but we have looked around the Southeast and continue to look." SCT Broughton Street, 1905 1791 George Washington visits the city's retail heart, Broughton Street, during his presidency 1969 The city's first mall, Oglethorpe Mall, opens and lures retailers away 2014 Ben Carter Enterprises buys buildings in need of rehab on Broughton April 2016 H&M; opens a four-story unit on Broughton Street 1950s Sears-Roebuck, J.C. Pen- ney, Belk and Woolworth's join the street's retail an- chor J.D. Weed & Co. HISTORY LESSON