We had a great chat with Savannah Realtor Beth Vantosh about growth in the hottest part of town, of course that’s the Starland District. She shares what she knows is on the way and some things that could be in the works for the new year.

Jesse Blanco: Alright, welcome back to the Eat It and Like It podcast, joining me now is someone who I like to refer to as an OG in real estate here in Savannah. Her name is Beth Vantosh, Vantosh Realty Group—Vantosh Realty Group, right?

Beth Vantosh: Yes, in the last year I have aligned myself with Seabolt Real Estate, but I’m the Vantosh Commercial Group at Seabolt Realty.

JB: Gotcha, very good. Well, welcome aboard. Thanks for hanging out. How are you? 

BV: I’m good, how are you? 

JB: I’m good. Thanks for taking a few minutes to chat with us. I wanted to talk to you, you and I cross paths here and there running around Savannah, ‘Hey, how are you?’ And ‘this is coming’, and ‘did you hear about this’, and all that stuff, but you are the person that I probably speak to the most about what is happening, what is yet to happen, and what has happened in the Starland District, which is probably our most popular—outside of the Historic District, the hottest part of town right now, Starland, true or false?

BV: True.

JB: It has come a long way in the last what, seven years maybe? Five, six?

BV: I would say 20, I’ve been working in the Starland area for 20 years. When I moved to Savannah from New York, I identified that as a neighborhood that I wanted to concentrate in. 

JB: Way back then?

BV: Way back then.

JB: Wow. Wow, that’s, yeah, that’s some foresight. And I know the guys, John and Michael, and they did Starland Cafe, and they were kind of pioneers in the area, and then Back in the Day Bakery came along. But what did you see back then that clearly they did, but not too many others did?

BV: I saw the proximity to Ardsley Park, and at the time, you know, I actually used to live on Victory Drive, right between Battey and Reynolds, and moving here from–I moved to Savannah from Manhattan and was very spoiled at getting to walk out my doorstep to places to eat and drink and everything, and so it was really because I lived on Victory Drive, I think, that I wanted to concentrate in an area that would be walkable.

And there was nothing when we moved here in 2004 that you could walk to other than Elizabeth’s at the time, which we would do. So I saw the opportunity. There were some very cool buildings, especially at One West Victory, which had the antique store and that old ice house that all the political signs were on. That was just prime for development. And that was probably one of the first projects that I worked on with Jamestown Properties back in, I think it was 2005 when they acquired it, but it wasn’t until much later that they actually did anything there. I think it was 2005. Yeah, I’m not 100, I can’t remember, but it was…

JB: Wow, so they acquired that in ‘05 and you and I both know–

BV: I think it was ‘05, yeah, I’m not 100%– I can’t remember.

JB: Well, it was clearly almost a decade until The Florence opened in ‘14. They sat on it for that long.

BV: Yeah, it sounds about maybe a little bit less, maybe it was a little bit later, you know, it all blurs together. But yes, it was way before the Florence opened. Yes, because they were going through a process of different kinds of product that they wanted to put there. Originally there was going to be a lot more retail there, which was very exciting. Unfortunately at the time, the neighbors and the neighborhood associations were fighting it. In hindsight, maybe they shouldn’t have. It would have happened a lot sooner, and we would have had a lot more retail, and, you know… as the story goes.

JB: Yeah. Yeah, and I’m sure, you know, ‘08, ‘09 had a lot to do with what that eventually became. So, no, I get it. Real quick aside, what is going into that empty space right behind Late Air? A big old apartment building, I’m guessing?

BV: Oh yeah, you mean the lot on Bull Street? It’s SCAD dorms. It is SCAD. Well, SCAD housing, I don’t know if it’s dorms. It might be an apartment type–I don’t know if you call them dorms anymore. Yeah. 

JB: Wow. Wow. Yeah, okay. Well, wow, that is amazing. Okay, so obviously you’ve had your eye on that neighborhood for a hot minute, but it’s been in the last handful of years that it really, really caught fire. Is that a fair statement?

BV: That’s a fair statement, yes.

JB: Why do you think that is? Because the landmark district down here has gotten pretty pricey?

BV: I think so. I think that, I mean, I started seeing it really when Ben Carter, who I have huge—unfortunately he passed away, and I have huge respect for [him] and his vision and what he saw in Savannah. But when he started buying on Broughton Street, that started pushing local interest a little bit more south. And it also helped the Liberty Street corridor, it made the Bull Street corridor all the way from the Historic Landmark District down to Starland, and I think that’s what really pushed the envelope, I guess, as you would say. And then we got Moodrights and those guys, and Lone Wolf on the other side, and it just started, you know, it just trickled down.

JB: Yeah, yeah. Are you surprised– I’m a little bit surprised– well, I got to back up on that statement that I’m about to make, I thought Bull Street, the corridor that you’re talking about, from the park all the way to Victory Drive, would be farther along at this point than it is. But it has come along quite a bit once I think about it, there’s a crepe place, and all the others. It’s fairly healthy right now, yeah?

BV: You know, it takes a long time in Savannah. When I moved here from New York City, I thought, ‘oh, it’s going to be so easy. If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere.’ Now I say, if you can make it in Savannah, you can make it anywhere. 

JB: (laughing) I kind of get that.

BV: Yeah, and we have this amazing city plan that was a live/work/play back in the 1700s. That’s what Oglethorpe’s vision was. But with that comes a lot of neighborhood angst. And even though we want to see development, neighbors get very—which I understand, [they] get very worried about what that’s gonna do to their parking, what that’s gonna do to their livelihood, you know, how they live. But there’s a pro and con to everything, and the pro is it makes neighborhoods safer. Developments make neighborhoods safer. I believe it will make neighborhoods cleaner. We do have a problem south of the park, we don’t have very good trash pickup or trash cans. You know, we have all this hotel development talk going on, there’s a negative to that, obviously, [but] there’s also an opportunity to maybe get some development partners that will help us get trash cans and sidewalks and crosswalks and all of that. Where that will go, I have no idea. I’m not so much into that. But it’s come a long way.

I mean, I feel like Bull Street has come a long way. You know, it’s real estate, and you have a lot of people who typically, in Savannah, have owned their real estate for generations, right? So it gets complicated, they don’t wanna sell, because then they don’t know what to do with the tax implications and stuff like that, because their basis is so low, right? So things don’t trade as quickly as they will in other cities. And so that also slows the development. We need to have responsible landowners and commercial owners that are willing to help develop the neighborhood. So that has a lot to do with it. But I think it’s come a long way. COVID helped. Brought a lot of people.

JB: Yeah. Yeah, I see them whenever I go down that way, you know, I park on the side streets going to Starland Yard or whatever, and you see the couples now, walking their dog with a coffee and the yoga pants, and it’s just, you know, a lot of people would turn their nose up and “oh, gentrification”, no, but if you want to compare it what it used to be, this is a good thing. 

BV: It is a good thing.

JB: It is a very good thing. Are you excited, you have to be, about what’s happening along 37th Street with all of that now? 

BV: Yeah, of course! It’s great. It’s great, and we have a lot of cool stuff happening down on Bull Street. I’m part of the team at 2517 Bull, which used to be the CNS upholstery building. We have two signed leases on the retail, and we have some letters of intent out for some other spaces, both office and retail there. The group that started Late Air has signed a lease to do a second concept in that building. 

JB: Nice! Now are we talking about the same building, the one on the corner there, that I had heard was going to be like a food court type of deal?

BV: Yes, yeah, yeah. It’s not really like a food court situation, one of the other leases that we signed is not food and beverage related, but we hope–I’ve got probably one more space that would be a great venue type or other type of place for live music or a bar, you know, it’s the space that would be kind of next to Say Hey’s, which Say Hey’s is cool. Say Hey’s has an opportunity to really embrace—and they want to, the owners of Say Hey, they want to embrace the neighborhood.

JB: Good!

BV: And there was actually an event there this summer that was so much fun, like four punk rock shows in the back there, it was great, at Say Hey’s. So I can see the space that we have there as some sort of venue, or bar-with-food-type there. We also have—I’m not sure if the lease has actually been signed, but it’s supposed to be signed any minute, next to Brochu’s, and next to Garden Square. Have you been to–

JB: For more food?

BV: For more food, yes.

JB: Nice! Very good. No, I haven’t made it, I was in Garden Square on opening day before they opened, I took some pictures and I told them, ‘okay, I’m leaving town this weekend, but I’ll be back to eat.’ And I might go, I might actually go Wednesday, I’m thinking about it. If not, I’ll probably make it there this weekend. Have you been?

BV: Yes, yes, it’s great. It’s great, they have this lemon–I think it’s passette dessert. It is so good, and their kale salad is really good. They have a lot of small bites, so if you’re getting ready to go out, like if you have an event to go to or something like that, it’s the perfect place to stop and meet a whole bunch of people. And they did an amazing job with the outdoor space, it’s so relaxing and so cool, so very happy to have them in the neighborhood. And in addition to Brochu’s, which of course I love and go [to] quite often.

JB: Of course. Every time I–if you read my stuff, which I’m guessing you do, and I talk about Starland, I mention parking. ‘Hey, allow yourself some time, do an Uber, whatever.’ Is there anything on the horizon that might alleviate that?

BV: I think that the neighborhood had a meeting with the city, and I believe that they’re going to start putting some metered parking spaces, which will help. And then the residents, I believe, will have their own, like what they do in the historic district, have their own resident stickers or tags or whatever. I think that will alleviate a lot of the parking problem, because there’s a lot of cars that are left overnight that shouldn’t be, you know, in the area. That’s a problem. 

JB: Right. Gotta keep it moving.

BV: Yeah, to keep the flow going. There are some spots that will be additional parking that will become–I don’t know if it will be available to the public, but will be available to some of the entities that are going to require parking. I mean, we’ve got about 100 units coming online on Bull Street of apartments. But they have parking for them.

JB: Next to the church?

BV: Next to the church, correct.

JB: Yeah, no, that whole area is just so unbelievably red hot. I mean, when my daughter, she moved away to college and now she’s in California, she comes home, or I send her pictures when I’m driving through, and she’s like, “what is that?” And I tell her, and she doesn’t even recognize it anymore. But it’s obviously for the better. I love what’s happening.

BV: Yeah, no, it’s great. It’s been really fun, you know, and an adventure, I’ll say. (laughing)

JB: Yeah, finally, 20 years later, I mean, yes, it’s been moving along slowly, but now… what’s happening now is what you thought could have happened a long time ago, yeah? 

BV: Right. Correct.

JB: Yeah. Very cool, very cool. All right, well, before we let you go, obviously you mentioned Garden Square, and you love Brochu’s, and we love Kyle with Lucia Pasta Bar. All of these places in Starland are doing just fantastic food. It is now our local’s downtown. “Hey, I’m going downtown”, everybody’s over there more so than they are north of Liberty street. 

BV: Right, correct, yeah.

JB: Yeah. It’s kind of happening down there. Very cool. Well, where else do you like to go eat when you have a spare evening?

BV: Well, I’m probably downtown more during the day, so like my daytime, I have my little route. I love Brighter Day sandwiches. I go there a lot. I love Nom Nom for lunch, Bull Street Taco, obviously. They were definitely pioneers of the Bull Street corridor. And I love Sixby, I go to Sixby a bunch for lunch. So yeah, I mean, later, I love getting a burger at Over Yonder. Like I said, I’m very excited about Garden Square, because I am always looking, when I am going to something downtown at night and trying to grab something earlier, it’s a great, you know, so you’re not too full. 

JB: Yeah, no, I get it. I get it. No one wants a gut bomb when you’re gonna go sit, let’s say, at a show or something 

BV: Exactly, and sit there and listen to something.

JB: Yeah, no, I get it. I get it. So what’s the time frame on that corner unit where you’re telling me that some stuff is gonna go in there? Do you have one?

BV: At 2517 Bull? I would say probably first quarter next year. Yeah. 

JB: Okay, that’s good. That’s good.

BV: Yeah, I’m not–you know, we’re waiting on windows.

JB: (laughing) Okay, it happens. Darling Oyster Bar was waiting on furniture from Europe, I think, for a year and a half, so I get it.

BV: Right, right, right. but we have windows in one of the—so that building is actually two structures, and so the old house building that was revitalized, we got those windows. It’s for the more industrial space. And that building used to be a bakery, so the people lived in the house, and then the industrial building was their production, and I think that was probably built in the 50s or 60s.

JB: Oh, no kidding! Wow. Wow. So, you know, everybody will tell you on TV that everything is kind of getting sluggish with the economy. [Is the] phone still ringing? People looking for opportunities? 

BV: Phone’s still ringing. Phone is still ringing. I mean, it’s definitely a little bit slower than it was, but it’s back to–I like to tell people it’s back to normal. We had a few years that were just off the chains, you know? And so we’re back to normal.

JB: Good, good. How many of those inquiries that you take are specifically about Starland?

BV: I mean, probably 70%, yeah.

JB: Yeah. Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me at all. That doesn’t surprise me at all.

BV: I wish I had bought some residential in Starland, when I saw the future, you know, it’s gotten, I mean, it’s a pretty popular place for the residential world as well.

JB: I get it, I get it. Yeah, and there’s–you know, the farther you go off of Bull, the more opportunity I would think there is to get something on the lower end, and invest in a neighborhood, and be part of what is obviously happening already.

BV: I’m hoping that we can see the same thing on Bull Street, on Montgomery Street. I mean Montgomery Street is primed for… but I hope it doesn’t take another 20 years.

JB: (laughing) No, no, I’ve heard, I’m sure you’ve heard the same rumors I’ve heard about what [things] are planned for over there, and I’m with you. If it happened in the next two or three years, I think it will kind of spark it, and go from there. 

BV: Correct.

JB: Well, Beth, thank you for taking a few minutes. Real quick, tell us where anybody who’s listening and is intrigued can find you.

BV: They can find me at www.vantoshco.com or give me a call at 912-663-3392.

JB: Very good. All right. Thanks for hanging out. Next sandwich at Sixby is on me. 

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