The Brice opened recently at the corner of Bay and Houston streets.
It’s one of more than 60 “boutique hotels” owned across the country by Kimpton, a company that generally invests in cities and metro areas much larger than Savannah.
The Brice replaces The Mulberry, which was just fine in that location. The striped awnings and other exterior touches gave The Mulberry a cheery if slightly outdated charm.
The new hotel presents a different face to the street and a different image of the city.
I spent some time wandering around the property last week and was especially impressed by the bold exterior choices, including the bright yellow awnings and the deep, pleasing gray paint on much of the brick façade.
The branding and signage have a distinctly contemporary feel.
The interior also has been transformed. The lobby area is cozier and brighter, with much less wasted space.
As one enters the hotel, the new Pacci Italian Kitchen + Bar lies to the right. The dining room is as beautifully designed and outfitted as the rest of the hotel.
I haven’t had a chance yet to sample Executive Chef Roberto Leoci’s menu, but I’ll be checking it out soon. Pacci is already serving breakfast and dinner; lunch service will start in mid-June.
Wandering inside and outside the hotel, I was struck by the versatility of the original construction. One could imagine the same basic structure being updated in novel ways in a future generation.
Those who fear that downtown Savannah will one day be dominated by cookie-cutter, faux historic buildings might want to head down to Washington Square to see how interestingly The Brice fits into the neighborhood.
Savannah vs. Charleston, by the numbers
Some recent conversations and messages indicate that I should clarify the way that City Talk generally uses population estimates.
First, when talking about the area population and economy, I generally focus on the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area, which consists of Chatham, Effingham and Bryan counties.
I didn’t decide which locales to include in the Savannah metro area. The same geographical designations are used by a variety of statistical agencies at the federal and state level.
If this column is looking at numbers just for Chatham County, we try to be clear about that. If we’re looking within the Savannah city limits or the limits of another municipality, we try to state that clearly too.
These are not idle distinctions.
For example, it seems every time I mention, as I did last week, that the Charleston metro area has more people and wealth than the Savannah metro area, I hear from readers who point out that Charleston’s population is smaller than Savannah’s.
And if you’re looking at the city limits, then Charleston does have fewer people than Savannah. But if you add in North Charleston, which itself has more than 100,000 people, and all the rest of the metro area, the picture changes dramatically.
According to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area had a population of 712,220 in 2013. That’s almost twice as many as the estimated 366,047 in the Savannah metro area in 2013.
And the Charleston metro area actually has an even larger economy relative to the Savannah metro area than the population data suggest.
According to a report published by the United States Conference of Mayors, the 2012 gross metropolitan product for the Savannah metro area was $14.1 billion.
Savannah’s gross metropolitan product accounted for just 3.3 percent of Georgia’s gross state product. The Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metro area accounts for about two-thirds of the gross state product.
By contrast, the Charleston-North Charleston metro area had a gross product of $31.0 billion in 2012 — more than twice Savannah’s gross metro product.
The gross metropolitan product for Charleston-North Charleston in 2012 represented 17.6 percent of South Carolina’s gross state product.
So not only are there more people in the Charleston metro than in the Savannah metro, but there is also a lot more wealth.
Despite these significant differences in size and wealth, I think it’s generally healthy to make comparisons between Savannah and Charleston. The comparison is one of many tools to help define who we are and where we want Savannah to go.
But in talking about such things as the restaurant scene or the cultural offerings, we have to keep in mind that a bigger, wealthier metro area has clear advantages.
City Talk appears every Tuesday and Sunday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA. 31401.