faded luxe IN A RETURN TO SAVANNAH

Residents of the Blue Ridge Mountains find their city home in a converted commercial building in beautiful Savannah, Georgia.

- Brian D. Coleman

tHE PAIR HAD VACATIONED in Savannah as long ago as the 1990s; they'd even bought a Georgian Revival duplex there. But Jack Hammack and Chas Fitzgerald were busy with careers that had them relocating; although they couldn't get the beautiful Host City out of their thoughts, they reluctantly sold the duplex. Years later, having restored a Mid-century Modern house near Asheville, N.C., they realized they were not too far from Savannah and began looking for a part-time residence here.

They wanted a lower-maintenance "lock and leave" home in the downtown historic district... a place to park the car and explore on foot. Broughton Street was undergoing renovation, with many of its former commercial buildings being converted to residential lofts. They found a place in the Weed Building.

Built in 1900, by the prominent Weed family, the four-storey brick structure on the southwest corner of Broughton had been home to the Weed hardware store and warehouse.