She said it could resemble her city. Priest is executive director of Downtown Little Rock, the Arkansas-based counterpart to Downtown Jackson Partners (DJP).
Heading up the group, Priest played an important role in transforming Little Rock’s all but forgotten downtown corridor into a thriving urban center with a vibrant social scene.
Priest said Jackson is now experiencing a cultural rebirth similar to the one in Little Rock, which promises to turn the capital city into a destination for new residents, shoppers and entertainment-seekers. This week, the Northside Sun will continue its look into what downtown life has to offer.
While Jackson officials look to a bright future, the city’s 66-block downtown business district already boasts a myriad of offerings for residents and visitors, ranging from taking in works of art at one of the city’s many art galleries or listening to a new band at a local nightclub.
“In the last couple of years, we have had a number of new night clubs open up,” said DJP Associate Director John Gomez. “There are growing pockets of entertainment.”
DJP figures show that the corridor has 35 restaurants and 20 annual events, like Jubilee Jam and the Jewish Film Festival. Commerce Street has four nightclubs. And Pascagoula Street offers venues for art, like Thalia Mara Hall and the Mississippi Museum of Art.
Many of these areas are within walking distance of the area’s 125 apartments and a good portion of them remain open after typical business hours.
Although several establishments offer entertainment after 6 p.m., many entrepreneurs don’t depend on downtown residents to pay the bills, simply because there aren’t enough to do so.
“We’ve been here 22 years and our bread and butter is the lunch crowd,” said Hal and Mal’s General Manager Charlie Abraham. “Particularly during the legislative session.”
As downtown grows, though, businesses like Hal and Mal’s will definitely benefit. The restaurant, along with the other nightclubs on Commerce Street, fills a niche not filled elsewhere in the metro.
Abraham said in the evening, the area becomes a sort of “entertainment mecca,” drawing visitors from the tri-county for live music and entertainment. Corporate travelers also add greatly to the area’s business. “People come here specifically for the entertainment,” he said.
Despite a steady stream of customers, many business owners look forward to the new mixed-use developments, like the Old Capitol Green, that promise thousands of new residents.
Little Rock began its urban revitalization about 12 years ago with the construction of Market Hall and River Market, a large downtown shopping center. The city received an additional boost in 2004, said Priest, with the opening of the William J. Clinton Presidential Library.
According to the Downtown Little Rock Partnership Web site, the library alone brought more than 271,000 people to the city between November 2005 and September 2006.
That traffic, she said, resulted in new growth. Now, Little Rock’s 45-block development district boasts more than 4,300 residents, two dueling piano bars and more than a dozen restaurants.
Developers in downtown Jackson are targeting young adults, age 19-42, Allen said, who are typically single, upstart professionals. These professionals, said Allen, aren’t looking to raise a family immediately, but are looking for an exciting urban environment to live in.
“Young people are growing up later. They’re getting married later,” he told those at the Lion’s Club meeting. “Finally, Jackson will be able to offer a product to them.”
Priest said an important ingredient to downtown Jackson’s success is creating a sense of destination.
“You have to give people a reason to come downtown,” she said. “That’s important.”
While Jackson doesn’t have a presidential library, there are reasons to visit. Downtown is home to several art galleries, like the Ink Spot on Capitol Street and Highland’s Fine Art located on President Street.
Three spots downtown are also being considered for a national civil rights museum, which city leaders said would be a huge draw for the area. It would also benefit ongoing efforts to revitalize the Farish Street Historical District, an African-American entertainment district that features the historical Alamo theater and Smith Robertson Museum.
Residents and visitors can also check out the city’s art scene.
The Mississippi Museum of Art offers frequent shows after business hours. On March 8, the museum will host a Collectors’ Choice Art Auction at Trustmark Hall. The event starts at 6:30 p.m. Residents interested can log onto the museum’s Web site at www.msmuseumart.org and click on calendar for more information.
Private art galleries also offer entertainment options.
Highland’s owner, Marcy Nessel, said she’s noticed a shift in downtown demographics in recent years. “I see young, hip professionals, especially at the Plaza Building, who are now living downtown,” she said. “When I host shows, I see much more of that crowd come in.”
Nessel’s gallery features original Mississippi artists and highlights landscapes, still lifes and other styles typically purchased by collectors. To cater more to the needs of younger urban dwellers starting their lives, she’s now bringing in more contemporary and abstract styles.
“People moving downtown are just starting out and probably not as interested in collecting fine art,” she said. “But they do need something to put on their walls.”
Another downtown destination is the Elite Restaurant on Capitol Street. “People have to pass hundreds of restaurants to get to us,” said Chuck Odom, the family-owned restaurant’s marketing representative. “We have folks who come from Belhaven, North Jackson and all over.”
WHILE THE restaurant’s busiest time of day is the lunch hour, the Elite also does a solid business at night.
Odom said the 60-year-old restaurant especially benefits at night when a Broadway play is scheduled at Thalia Mara or when groups like the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra are playing.
Odom said he too is hoping for an influx of new residents, but said his family’s restaurant already has a good reputation that attracts customers from the tri-county area.
The restaurant opened in August 1947. Then, it was part of a thriving downtown environment. “There were a couple of movie theaters and department stores close by,” Odom said. He referred to a watercolor painting of the city more than 40 years ago. “It was a hopping place.”
That began to change in the 1970s as suburbia grew. Former main thoroughfares like Capitol Street were converted to one-way traffic in an effort to move cars through the city as quickly as possible.
Part of the effort to revitalize downtown is to convert some of those thoroughfares back for two-way traffic. Jackson city officials are now considering issuing $3 million in general obligation bonds to cover the costs to two-way Capitol, although no concrete plans have been made.
Known as the Capitol Street Renaissance, it would open two lanes for westbound traffic from North State Street to Jackson State University. Officials say the project would tie downtown together and create new economic growth, while also benefiting the businesses already there.
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