SavannahNOW Home Finder.com - Savannah's Ultimate Home Buying Guide

Herty Lofts, a luxury condominium community located in the former Charles H. Herty Elementary School on Skidaway Road, is 50 percent sold out. In response to customer demand, Herty Lofts developer Inman Park Properties, Inc. has announced plans to start preliminary planning of Phase II, which will be constructed on the three-acre site adjacent to Phase I. Additional residential units are planned to start construction first quarter 2006.

"The interest in Herty Lofts has been incredible," says Cora Bett Thomas, president and CEO of Cora Bett Thomas Realty Company, LLC. "People have really responded to the fact that these condominiums are situated within a historic, former school, just one mile from the Historic District. The lofts are full of light and full of life. They're perfect for people who are on the cutting edge and like to set the trends."

Last year this former public school, which officially closed its doors in 1992 after more than 50 years of educating area students, was converted into Herty Lofts, Savannah's most impressive conversion project to date. Herty Lofts features 17 luxury condominiums, which combine the historic charm of a former school with the best of smart technology and contemporary living.

Herty Lofts features 12-foot ceilings, hardwood floors and tile baths with Kohler fixtures. The original two-story brick building features completely new plumbing, electrical, Kolbe & Kolbe true divided light, insulated windows and central heat and air, all covered under a totally new roof with a 20-year guarantee.

Interiors at Herty Lofts offer sleek, modern design, with decorative moldings and state-of-the-art amenities. Every unit has been outfitted with CAT-6 wiring, offering high speed internet access throughout the building. Herty Lofts also offers several touches of nostalgia such as leaving the school's original white porcelain water fountains intact in the building's wide central halls.

"This is a unique product I haven't seen available in this market," says Jeff Notrica, president of Inman Park Properties, Inc. a company with 15 years of experience restoring historic properties in Savannah, Atlanta and Birmingham. "It's a true loft, with high ceilings. We preserved the integrity of the structures and kept the original 10-foot wide hallways, yet it's been completely updated. Another feature that sets this building apart from other structure in downtown Savannah is that it's a masonry building which has no wood framing to be ravaged by termites."

Herty Lofts offers the perfect lifestyle option for young professionals, empty nesters or anyone looking for a unique living environment.

These tastefully designed one- and two-bedroom units provide the best of loft living in the heart of Savannah, conveniently located across the street from the historic Gordonston neighborhood and with the most convenient access to the Truman Parkway, a new crosstown highway, of any other residential development in recent times.

"Herty Lofts is strategically located," says Thomas. "It offers cool, hip loft space within five minutes of anything you might need. It's close to downtown, shopping, the hospitals and the beaches."

Named after Dr. Charles Holmes Herty of Milledgeville, Herty School honored the legacy of Georgia's native son. Dr. Herty, an accomplished chemist, revolutionized the process by which pine trees could be processed for paper and wood pulp, developing one of the strongest industries in the South in the 1930s. He is also widely credited with introducing football to the South while serving on the faculty at the University of Georgia.

"Herty Lofts is unlike anything else in Savannah," said Thomas. "We are thrilled that the response has been so positive."

ABOUT CORA BETT THOMAS REALTY COMPANY, LLC:

With listings for some of the area's finest residential and commercial properties, Cora Bett Thomas Realty Company, LLC is one of the region's leading real estate companies. The company, which is headquartered in Savannah, features a team of more than 45 agents who specialize in historic homes, luxury condominiums, commercial real estate, investment property, land and waterfront property as well as a South Carolina office serving the Hilton Head Island and Bluffton coastal communities.

Cora Bett Thomas Realty Company, LLC is a member of Christie's Great Estates, Who's Who in Luxury Real Estate, Leading Estates of the World, RELO and The Board of Regents. The company also features a full-service property management department.

For additional information, please visit www.corabettthomas.com.