Whatever story you want to tell, tell it at the right size.
Richard Linklater
Real estateurs think big - we describe our development projects with sweeping hand gestures and our marketing materials highlight size and scale, as if bigger is a proxy for better. But when we examine the places people like to hang, we learn compact and charming beats big and domineering.
We’re insufferable - here’s a recent announcement for a new development:
This new hotel next to Mercedes-Benz Stadium is about to dominate the skyline of downtown Atlanta…the Signia will have 975 rooms, making it the sixth largest hotel in Atlanta by room occupancy, and will become the tallest hotel on Atlanta’s Westside.
Meanwhile, a few hundred miles away in the Old Village of Mount Pleasant, the Post House has but 7 rooms and it dominates the vibes for all of coastal South Carolina.
The guest rooms are an extension of a bustling bar and tavern, with world-class patios.
Bloody Marys, blue crab fried rice, and exceptional burgers - Post House supplies all the gear required for a successful brunch.
Post House is creaky floors, sporting art, antique maps, and attractive people.
Delightful rooms, and only seven of them.
As opposed to standing out, Post House fits in - and, along with its neighbors, creates a whole. Next door is the Pitt Street Pharmacy, Est. 1937, complete with a neighborhood soda fountain. The rest of the block contains coffee, flowers, home furnishings, and gifts - the necessary accompaniments for a Lowcountry life of leisure.
The entire commercial district is around half an acre, and it’s perfect.
All this and with only 35 parking spaces, a ratio that could never get approved in most of America. No “transition areas” between the commercial and residential. And yet the lack of traditional zoning requirements doesn’t seem to harm the neighboring homes:
Size matters, and so does scale. Hospitality matters just as much:
Giuseppe Cipriani opened Harry’s Bar in Venice in 1931, making a name for himself with hospitality, bellinis, and carpaccio. A century later Cipriani is a global brand, peddling restaurants, social clubs, and condos - and now in the market raising a $562 million fund.
Post House is the brain child of Kate and Ben Towill; their combined background includes stints with Wes Anderson, the New York Times, MTV, and Michelin-starred kitchens. Their refreshing point of view and latest iteration of 101 Pitt Street has caught the attention of Vogue, Condé Nast, and Monocle.
We’ll see if the Towills take their company global. Hopefully so - their mastery of scale, style, and hospitality would make us all better off.
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