by Jogee Lenarduzzi
StarkvilleNow correspondent
The BOA approved the Tax Increment Financing Plans for Cotton Mill Marketplace and Middleton Marketplace Tuesday after hearing the public’s opinion at an open meeting.
P.C. “Mac” McLaurin Jr. motioned separately to approve both TIF plans. Sumner Davis seconded the Cotton Mill plan and Richard Corey seconded the Middleton Marketplace plan. Both plans were approved by a 6-1 vote, with Roy Perkins in opposition each time.
McLaurin explained that the city would not be issuing any bonds until after the developments were built and running for several months. This would allow the city to be sure the projects will be stable.
After the projects are completed, the BOA will then vote on approval of the actual TIF bonds.
“This is a necessary preliminary item. Before the approval, there will be at least two more,” McLaurin said. “This is just one in a series of steps to allow this to move forward.”
The first project, Cotton Mill Marketplace, will be located on the corner of Highway 12 and the Mississippi State University campus. If all goes as planned, the makers of Cotton Mill Marketplace will transform the area that was once the old theatre, the Cooley Center, and the Burger King into a development including national retail shopping, restaurants, a hotel, parking decks, apartments and a convention center.
A convention center will be housed in the Cooley Center and will maintain the center’s façade with a revamped interior. Developers hope to start construction in May 2009 and complete the center by 2010.
One of the developers for the project, Brooks Holstein, said they have received a good response from retailers including national department stores. Holstein also said developers were moving forward very aggressively to get the project started.
Some Starkville citizens showed concern of the Cotton Mill Marketplace because of the possible effects on the surrounding neighborhoods. One present, Harry Cole, gave an in-depth public statement stating his concerns with the project.
He wanted to know which department stores would be moving into the future development and if it would put the department stores that are already in Starkville out of business. He also wondered if Starkville really needed another convention center when MSU has places where large groups can convene.
The most debated issue Cole and others brought up was the possibility of imminent domain being used to take people’s homes from them.
Both developers, Holstein and Mark Nicholas, made a public pledge that they would not be asking the BOA for imminent domain. They did, however, state that they hoped to purchase some homes from people currently living on some of the land. If those people did not want to sell, they would make alterations to their plans to accommodate the current owners.
Another citizen, Dorothy Isaac, brought up a different point.
“We have another side of town that is under-developed. Bring some development to that part of the town. We want to see some progress,” Isaac said.
She said development for Starkville was great, but instead of putting all of it near the university, it should spread out over town.
In response, Holstein said that perhaps they could do future development in other areas of town.
“We came to this city and selected this site simply because it was the best retail spot we could find. It lends itself to redevelopment,” Holstein said. “We’re doing this because we believe in the city.
The second development, Middleton Marketplace will be located on Highway 12 and the corner of Louisville Street right by Brewski’s. The developers hope to take the current shopping area and give it a new façade. They also hope to bring in new retailers and build two restaurants and a Fairfield Inn. The development will include the current shopping center on the corner and the land that was formerly the Coca Cola plant.
This development was met with less opposition than Cotton Mill Marketplace.
The only concerns voiced at the meeting from the public was question of trash upkeep and the possibility of building a fence behind the development that backs up to a neighborhood. The developers seemed very flexible to these ideas and told the citizens they would work with them to make sure trash was placed in dumpsters that would be fenced. They said they would consider building the fence along the back of the development.
Recent comments