A PROJECT HAS BEEN chosen and a milestone has been reached in the long process to develop the property that was home to the former Mississippi School for the Blind.

The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) recently selected a proposal to develop the 21-acre site from Duckworth Realty and Barranco Architecture and Interior Design.

The proposal will include 320,000 square feet of office and retail space, 140 condominiums, 52 townhouses, a 180-room hotel and a parking structure. The $180 million project will also mean millions of dollars in sales tax and property tax revenue for the capital city.

Ted Duckworth, the president and CEO of Duckworth Realty, said construction on the mixed-use development could begin as early as 2009. Existing buildings on the site will likely be demolished and crews will begin installing infrastructure like roadways, sewer and water lines.

Duckworth and Barranco recently hosted an internal charrette, an intense planning session, to lay out the master plan for the project. Duckworth said the plan will likely evolve in the next six months to a year to address space constraints and other issues the property could present.

“We’re still very early in the process,” he said. “We’ve been working on this for two years and have overcome the biggest hurdle. The next hurdle is to do what we proposed.”

Once completed, the high-end development will mean additional jobs and revenue for the city.

The development is expected to create an additional $1.7 million in real property taxes, $248,000 in personal property taxes and approximately $2.3 million in retail sales tax each year. For Jackson, it will also create 222 retail jobs and 475 positions in the office and commercial sectors.

WARD SEVEN Councilwoman Margaret Barrett-Simon said she’s pleased that a developer has been selected and work can begin on the project.

She said the city has too many properties, like churches and government-owned buildings that have a tax-exempt status. She said it’s important to have a large property like the one at the Blind School to come back onto the tax rolls.

“This is exactly what we need,” she said. “It will be a big economic boost for Jackson.” The city currently suffers from more than a $3 million budget shortfall. She acknowledges that the project won’t be a quick fix for the city’s financial woes, but will help the city in the future.

“All we can do is build for the future,” she said. “We may not have the revenue today, but we can plan on the fact that we’ll have it later.”

The Mississippi School for the Blind will also benefit from the project.

MDA Public Relations Manager Jennifer Spann said recently that the acreage will be leased to Duckworth for the next 60 years. After the first 60 years are up, the developer will have the option to lease the property for another 20 years.

The development authority will administer the lease, which will be similar to those on the Ross Barnett Reservoir, but money brought in from it will go to the School for the Blind.

The project, which hasn’t been named, could be finished in the next three to five years, he said. Although tenants haven’t committed to the project, Duckworth and Barranco envision a new urbanism plan that will keep in character with the surrounding area.

During the 2007 Mississippi legislative session, the state House of Representatives passed a bill that would make the property available to developers. The state then issued a nationwide request for proposals (RFP) to find the one that would be best suited for the area.

TO BE CONSIDERED for the lease, the Development Authority would only consider bids of $100 million or more and required companies to make a $100,000 deposit. “We wanted to make sure that companies were serious, while, at the same time, protecting our taxpayers,” she said.

Seven companies picked up bid packets, but only Duckworth submitted the paperwork. While deciding on uses for the area, lawmakers also considered using the property for another state agency.

Duckworth hopes to create a neighborhood that will blend with the Eastover area and offer “a sense of place, where people can eat dinner and go and do things,” he said.

The developer also hopes to attract high-end retailers, restaurants and specialty shops, like a Whole Grains food store, to meet the needs of the residents that will live there. He said many tenants will have disposable income.

The state Legislature established the Mississippi School for the Blind in 1848. It has been under the direction of the state Board of Education since 1989. The school relocated from its former location south of Eastover Drive to a new building in 2000.