Jackson City Council met for a special-called meeting on Tuesday, following the budget committee’s approval for the $4 million purchase of the Jackson Plaza.
The council voted unanimously to consider the acquisition of the land upon first reading.
“I think it’s going to be a great thing for the city, and I’m very optimistic that it’s going to happen because we need it,” Jackson Mayor Scott Conger said.
An event space of such magnitude has not been developed since 1973 with the establishment of the Carl Perkins Civic Center.
Because both the Civic Center and Jackson Fairgrounds are booked every weekend through 2024, according to Conger, the addition of a new event space for larger-scale events is going to be monumental in bringing more people to the city.
Looking towards the future, the proximity of the land to the highway would spur economic growth for local hotels, restaurants, and surrounding businesses with the number of people who would be in attendance at any given event in the convention center and arena.
“Back in 2017, the city had a master plan that was developed and there were some looks at that area because it was already in decline,” said District 6 council member Paul Taylor. “We really want to look at what’s the best development opportunity for the greater area, not just that area.”
The Tuesday meeting was the first reading of the budget amendment and the second reading is set to take place at the next regularly scheduled city council meeting in January.
“The reasoning for acquiring this today is to start to control the direction of redevelopment in this area, and we felt like the city could do that best by holding some of that property,” Taylor said.
Setting the stage for the geographic center
Areas of consideration for the sub-area master plan include parking needs, traffic impacts and street design, pedestrian accessibility, associated uses, and stormwater capacity.
“We understand that that’s the geographic center of our city, so it’s really important that whatever redevelopment happens there that we get it right,” he said.
With his background in real estate, Taylor’s support of the land redevelopment stems from the understanding that when original occupants of the land leave, it is common for sub-par uses of the land to follow.
“Some of the uses that were coming out that were potentially in the pipeline for this particular area, would’ve continued the decline in that area,” Taylor added. “We felt like there was an opportunity for the city to start to control that and drive the narrative of what could happen in that area.”
He noted that there’s “a lot of appetite in the real estate market for that area,” but that it’s pertinent the city exercises control over its development to best serve Jackson’s citizens.
Because the process of Jackson Plaza’s redevelopment is still in its preliminary phases, timelines of when the proposed convention center and arena would be up and running are not clear. As fiscal conservatism is prioritized, both capital and operating costs must be examined prior to any demolition or groundbreaking even begins.
However, Taylor estimates that the city is between six and eight months away from completing the recommended steps for the sub-area master plan, and an additional three to six months for the feasibility study.
The feasibility study would examine and evaluate the potential of programmatic uses (conferences, concerts, sporting events, etc.), financing recommendations, economic impact, the size of the proposed facilities and the revenue generated as a result, expenses related to facilities, and estimated development costs.
“This is a huge endeavor and we have a lot of momentum in the city of Jackson and if we’re going to do something, it’s time for us to do something big,” Conger said.
Source: Jackson Sun
