A master developer could be in place by the spring to help redevelop a now vacant eight-acre site across from the Jackson Convention Complex.
Firms interested in developing the site have until November 5 to submit proposals to the city of Jackson.
Builders chosen will help breathe new life into a 7.75-acre plot next to the convention center that is characterized by a hodgepodge of concrete slabs and gravel parking areas.
The city issued a request for proposals in early September, months after it brought on a firm to help draw up conceptual plans for the property.
“What we’re looking for is a master developer who can put together a long-term, 10 to 15-year plan on how to develop the area based on the concept we have,” said Mukesh Kumar, director of planning and development.
Kumar said several firms had shown interest, but there would be no way of knowing how many proposals would be submitted until deadline.
The RFP and supporting documents can be downloaded from the city’s Web site.
The city hosted a “Downtown Development Dialogue” in June to draw up plans for the property, which was originally purchased by the city to construct a convention center hotel.
Based on the session, any development must include 50,000 square feet of office space, 90,000 feet of retail commercial space, 150,000 square feet of entertainment and event space, a 160,000-square-foot hotel, a 500,000-square-foot parking garage and 500,000 square feet of residential space.
The developer chosen will put together a master plan based on those specifics, as well as a construction plan, financing plan and long-term management plan for the site.
“Our concept plan is very broad, but the contract will require a certain number of houses or require a hotel of a certain size to be built, but the developer can produce the outcome in different ways,” Kumar said.
The developer also must agree to enter into a long-term lease agreement with the city. Jackson will not be selling the land as part of any deal, according to the RFP.
Jackson must bring on a developer as part of a repayment agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The city used nearly $7 million in HUD loans to purchase the property, which is located across from the convention center on Pascagoula Street.
Plans were for the city to pay back the loan by 2028, but HUD called the loan last year, because Jackson had not developed the site.
“HUD was concerned because we were not doing anything (with the property),” Kumar said in a previous interview.
The idea was Jackson would use the monies, which were from a Section 108 loan, to purchase the land, and then repay the debt with proceeds from development. However, numerous efforts to develop the site over the years have fallen through.
Shortly after Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba took office, his team began renegotiating repayment terms with the federal agency.
Thanks to those negotiations, Jackson was given four years to repay the loan in installments. The first payment of $250,000 was due in fiscal year 2018. The fiscal year ran through September 30.
Also, as part of the agreement the capital city had to complete a market study of downtown Jackson, conduct a feasibility study of potential projects for the convention center site, and issue an RFP for a developer.
Jackson brought on Hunden Strategic Partners, which completed the market analysis, which was released earlier this year, and hosted the downtown dialogue.
Hunden’s initial findings showed Jackson needed a convention center hotel, but didn’t’ have the market to support it.
Plans to redevelop the convention center site include recommendations from Hunden on growing the downtown market, in part, by offering more retail, residential and restaurant space.
The city also was charged with bringing on a firm to build the site. The RFP for a master developer was issued on September 5.
