By 2030, Cashiers could have a new 24.5-acre development including a lodge, greenspace and retail shops in the heart of the village that is focused on conservation and the preservation of the town’s character.
The multi-million-dollar mixed-use development, which is being spearheaded by Orlando, Fla.-based hospitality company The Kessler Collection and designer Christian B. Sottile, would contain green space, a lodge, glamping sites, retail and a community center called Cashiers Hall. The retail spaces would house local businesses, such as honey makers or artists.
This proposal is less than half the size of the proposed Stephen Macauley development that had been presented for the heart of Cashiers in late 2020/early 2021.
The East Village project has received the backing of the Develop Cashiers Responsibly group, and The Kessler Collection and Sottile met with the organization as well as several stakeholders last week to introduce the project to the community.
The development would be located on the Steve Zoukis property southeast of the Cashiers crossroads between Marigold Street and Montevista Road. It is about one-third the density of the Macauley project proposal, Develop Cashiers Responsibly member Bill Horton said.
The development would also leave about a quarter of the property open for greenspace, according to design plans.
In addition, the project would be an extension of The Village Green and take advantage of public amenities in Cashiers such as the Village Ramble.
The Kessler Collection has also developed other projects across the Southeast such as the J.W. Marriott Plant Riverside District in Savannah, Ga., and several Grand Bohemian Hotels, such as those in Charlotte, Asheville and a new one currently under construction in Greenville, South Carolina next to the Reedy River and Falls Park.
“I think we can do something very special,” Kessler Collection CEO and chairman Richard Kessler said. “Everything we do is uniquely tailored to that community or city that we are in. We really focus on what the community needs and what is it that they don’t have that they need.”
Kessler said the property is currently under contract thanks to community members such as Liz Harris, Horton, Ann McKee Austin and other stakeholders.
Sottile, an architect and town planner, is also the owner of Savannah-based design studio Sottile & Sottile and is the former dean of the School of the Building Arts at the Savannah College of Art and Design. While in that role, he focused on historic preservation and architectural history.
“I’m very much involved in the building environment at different scales,” Sottile said, “as well as different places in time and how they evolve and grow. We’re very happy to be back in Cashiers because this is a real place and has a real history.”
He has won several national accolades, including recognition from the Urban Land Institute on a decade-long redevelopment project involving a 100-year-old power plant next to the Savannah River. That project received the global award for excellence, Sottile said.
ULI is currently scheduling a panel of experts with the Cashiers Planning Council to visit the village and assist with proposed development ordinance amendments. The national organization has been asked to come to the village to assess the needs of the town related to future development.
“When we finished the project, we had about an acre and a half of open space for parks and plazas,” Sottile said. “This connected immediately back to the city’s fabric. It’s a preservation project, it’s a town planning project and it has new design too.
- By Michael O'Hearn/Crossroads Chronicle