she`s so skirt!

Laura Bryant / Urban Pioneer

When Laura first spotted the old bank building on Hull Street near Commerce, the Savannah native fell in love: “The roof had caved in, the windows were smashed, and two trees were growing in the lobby.” Her knack for restoring old buildings in blighted neighborhoods had earned her the Historic Savannah Foundation’s preservation award. And in 2004, she was seeking a new challenge. “I didn’t know a soul here, but Richmond felt like the next step. These Old Manchester buildings just called out to me: buy me, want me, live in me again.” In under a year, she restored the bank to its former glory, settled into an apartment upstairs, and launched The Bankuet Place—a rental space for weddings and parties. “I didn’t know if it was going to work, but I think I did this old building justice,” she concludes. “I guess it just takes somebody with blind faith.”