CHRIS RAY LIVES in Fondren and goes to church in Fondren. And, later this year, he will have an office overlooking the diverse community that he’s proud to call home.

Ray, the chief executive officer of the Ramey Agency, said the marketing firm is planning to relocate its corporate offices to a new development now under construction in the community.

The firm will be located on the third floor of a three-story building which is part of the $25 million Fondren Place Development. He said the view of creative spots like Fondren Corner and the old Pix/Capri Theater will give him and his employees more inspiration.

The first phase of construction on the Fondren Place project is expected to be completed in May. Developer Mike Peters said the first phase, once completed, will include a new 45,000-square-foot, three-story building and the renovation of the historic Duling School building.

Peters said the three-story building, located at the corner of North State Street and Duling Avenue, will house the Ramey Agency and the offices of Cooke Douglass Farr Lemons, Ltd. Architects and Engineers PA. A Bankplus branch office will call the first floor home.

Ramey is moving from Highland Colony Parkway in Ridgeland. “We’re really excited about the project,” Ray said. “Fondren is an up-and-coming community and we love its creativity. We feel that our employees will really feel at home there.”

WHILE PROFESSIONAL businesses have already filled up the three-story building (Its steel skeleton is now taking shape on State Street.), creative retail shops and restaurants have flocked to the 20,000-square-foot Duling School building, which is being transformed into a new shopping center.

Two of the businesses that the Northside Sun previously reported would open there include a Bohemian Kitchens of Gozan Interiors, an interior design firm which specializes in kitchens and bathrooms, and a restaurant that will be called the Auditorium.

The restaurant will combine dining with live music and dinner theater in the Duling School building’s old auditorium. It will be owned by Nathan Glenn, who owns Basil’s and Rooster’s in Fondren.

Peters said he’s pleased that the development is already generating interest among businesses. He wouldn’t discuss any other businesses that are planning to open at Fondren Place and he wouldn’t confirm rumors that a boutique hotel would open there. “That’s just a rumor,” he said.

The second phase of the Fondren Place project is expected to begin sometime this year. Originally, developers planned to build high-end condominiums costing $200,000 and up in a building at the corner of Old Canton Road and Duling Avenue.

Now, Peters said, developers are reconsidering their options. A pile of dirt has already been moved on the site. The project is owned, in part, by Peters and by Mattiace Properties. Jackson Public Schools also owns 20 percent of the property. The district sold the historic school to developers.

The property was the first site in the state that was sold for potential development under House Bill 1302, the School Property Development Act of 2005.

The legislation authorizes a way for local school districts to dispose of unused or underutilized land and buildings in an effort to maximize possible monetary returns to the district.

Duling School was built in 1927 and originally contained six classrooms. Once it was no longer used as a traditional school, it was used for JPS’s adult education classes and for career placement programs. It was named in honor of a longtime educator, Lorena Duling, who taught in Jackson for 53 years.

THE PROJECT, although going well, did create some challenges for Peters. The school building is a historic Mississippi landmark. It was dedicated in 1998, said Jennifer Baughn, the chief architectural historian for the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

The department has authority over all publicly owned state-designated historic landmarks.

Before renovations could be made, conceptual drawings had to be approved by the state, Baughn said. “We get conceptual drawings from the developers, and there’s a lot of compromise,” she said.

Before work could begin on Duling School, developers had to complete a two-year process of revising plans. “Generally, retail space is problematic in historic buildings,” Baughn said. “In this situation (Fondren Place) developers wanted to create a mall situation.”

Although some interior walls were moved and lockers were removed, the outside historical structure of the facility will remain intact. Original wooden windows and doors are being repaired instead of replaced. And, some partitions were moved to create retail space, she said.

“By in large, we’re happy,” Baughn said. “That’s why we had the review put in place: to make a compromise that works for them and maintains the historic integrity of the building.”