Even though the leadership is in flux, the GSDP hosted a group from PACCAR yesterday in an effort to “better tell Starkville’s story” according to COO Chance McDavid. The group of 50+ PACCAR couples toured the city and campus, ending at a reception at a local home. There, a cross-section of Starkville volunteers played guest host to communicate why they choose to make this their home.

Wendy Peavy, Marketing and Public Policy Director for Comvest, one of the developers behind Cotton Mills, was kind enough to answer 12 questions in an email interview.

1) Why Starkville? Developers Brooks Holstein and Mark Nichols saw changes to the city of Starkville being driven by MSU through its aggressive marketing as a technology driven university and saw technology industries emerging around the University and the community. Study of the Golden Triangle retail offerings showed that while Starkville was the largest economic generator it was also the largest underserved retail market in the area. These factors combined with the site’s location at the front door of the University made the development possibility that much more appealing. A series of meetings with officials from MSU and the City of Starkville lead to the conclusion that a mixed use development would best serve the needs of the University and the City.

2) Mayor Dan Camp said in recent published reports that the project was waiting on GO ZONE bonds from Governor Barbour and had 40-50 retail commitments. What is the timetable for approval of the GO ZONE bonds? We are pleased to report that we received our GO ZONE bonds approval letter from the Governor last week. Mayor Camp may have misunderstood information we shared with him concerning commitments. We have lease commitments for 40,000 to 50,000 square feet of space.

3) How many retail commitments have been secured for the project? Can you name some of the stores? If not, when do you anticipate being able to release some of those names? We continue to work with our retail prospects. The timing of that sort of announcement is at their discretion.

4) A concern was raised on a response post at StarkvilleNow.com about Cotton Mills taking existing Starkville businesses and relocating them to the new project, leaving empty store fronts across town. Are you recruiting national chains that do not have a location in Starkville yet or existing businesses for relocation? As with our other retail developments we are marketing Cotton Mill Marketplace through our contacts within the International Council of Shopping Centers and the retail industry. We have not approached existing businesses about relocating.

5) When will the first construction contract be let? We have selected Harrell Contracting Group, LLC as our General Contractor for the project. We expect to break ground this fall.

6) When is the completion of the project forecast? The completion of the project will happen in phases. Student Housing element will need to be deliverable by July of 2010 in advance of MSU’s Fall semester. GO ZONE bond regulations stipulate that the retailers take procession of their space by October 2010. We continue to build our timeline for other elements of the project.

7) The site plan seems to include some residences on the Northwest side. What is the status on the purchase of those units? Purchase of those properties is on going.

8)When will groundbreaking happen? We plan to make that announcement in the next couple of weeks and you are certainly on our press release distribution list!

9) There are at least two other projects floating in development limbo in the Golden Triangle- Middleton Market and University Mall (Lowndes County). How do those projects affect your drawing power? Cotton Mill Marketplace is a completely different type of development offering office space, shopping, dining, entertainment, hospitality and meeting space. The tenants we draw are looking for that type of mix.

10) Does the lack of alcohol sales on Sunday have any impact on your recruitment efforts for restaurants? We have been approached by national restaurants regardless of this issue. The Starkville market and our project are that appealing.

11) Any info on the movie theatre- i.e., digital, 3D, etc.? We are in discussion with a state-of-the-art theatre operator.

12) There has been an excitement that demolition has begun on part of the site. What is the next step for the project? Watch for site work to begin in the area of the Cooley building and to the west toward the Russell Street and Highway 12 intersection.