The Railroad District of Ridgeland, which the city plans to develop as its downtown, has multiple projects underway in the West Jackson Street area. Mayor Gene McGee shared that the Master Plan project for the downtown area has been perfectly timed with the area’s development.
“Development along West Jackson Street has been steady for years,” McGee said. “We are perfectly timing the Master Plan project to really pull the pieces together.”
Currently along Jackson Street after exiting I-55, three construction sites are active. Benson Companies’s project, which will be Oakley Square, is on the left, placed on Jackson Street and North Magnolia Street next to First Ridgeland Church. Next is Maple Street Commercial located on Maple Street. Lastly, shortly before Highway 51 across from Wells Fargo is Old Town Place. Each of these developments are multi-use.
“New developments mean things are happening and people are interested in the area,” McGee said. “We continue to see growth in the Railroad District and all over Ridgeland. “Economic Development is a critical component to running a successful city and remains one of our top priorities. Tax dollars that are generated from sales tax and ad valorem tax collections are put right back into the community for the benefit of our citizens in the form of great Police, Fire, Parks, and Infrastructure.”
Benson Companies is a construction and masonry company that has been operating in the Jackson area since 1946. Its building is located in the Industrial Park in Ridgeland. Co-owner Rick Benson said they’d been watching the property on West Jackson Street for some time. Three years ago, they bought the property and are now making plans to develop the two acre site that is zoned as mixed-use.
Currently, the company is working on building a road that will go through the property from Magnolia Street to Jackson Street. They are also working on installing utilities and infrastructure. They are hoping to have these first steps complete this spring.
“We have the plans and a preliminary plat approved through the city,” Benson said. “All of the buildings will be built on the front side of the property, which is consistent with their guidelines, with a lot of nice pedestrian sidewalks and thoroughfare up next to the buildings and the actual street itself. We are leaving a lot of the trees that have been there for years. We have a really nice landscape plan for the master plan for the entire development that will be going in.”
Construction on the first building that will be located in the Oakley Square development on Lot 1 on the west side of the property will begin within the next 45 days. It is up for submission to the architectural review board within a few weeks. It will be a 3,500 square feet single story building. While someone is interested, it is not yet under contract.
“The majority of the buildings that we are putting up there will be some retail, professional space and probably second floor residential,” Benson said. “The market will help us decide what we are going to do there. We don’t know exactly. We have a lot of space there.”
There isn’t a specific number of buildings that will be part of Oakley Square, but it will be a mixed-use property including retail, professional space and residential.
“We are still trying to develop the property into what it needs to be instead of throwing up a bunch of buildings and not knowing what is going to be there,” Benson said. “We are developing plans now for other buildings to coincide. Once we start construction, we are going to move on through. It will be tenant driven. Once we have people that are interested in the property and that are ready to lease, we will get letters of intent and move forward that way. On any development, you just have to start it off and see what the market is going to end and then you tailor.”
Benson said the property will reflect Jackson Street with a traditional look including brick, sidewalks, and balconies.
“The character there is just phenomenal with all the trees and landscaping,” Benson said. “It has always had good traffic flow through there, and it is so accessible to the interstate and to one of the fastest growing parts of Ridgeland right across the highway at Renaissance. We just saw it as a very nice piece of property we could develop into a setting that would be appealing to a lot of people.”
Benson said the city has been very supportive of the project and their company has been supporters of Ridgeland as they located their business there over 20 years ago.
“We are big patrons and supporters of Ridgeland, and we just felt like this was the perfect place to develop something that we can put our name on and be proud of,” Benson said. “We are working as a team with the City of Ridgeland because it is at the front door of their city. I consider it the front door because it is coming off the interstate. It needs to be done right.”
Maple Street Commercial is being developed by Patrick Rowland located in Madison. The building is 15,000 square feet and will be home to five tenants. One spot is still available as Edward Jones, a hair salon, a dentist, and counselors have already taken up leases in the building. The building is expected to be move-in ready in about 45 days.
“Patrick Rowland has done an outstanding job of keeping with the historical district of downtown Ridgeland,” Realtor Christi Greenlee said.
Old Town Place is being developed by Old Trace commercial and will also be mixed use with retail space, office space, and residential. The plans currently show the first floor contained retail, office, and medical office spaces ranging from 1,300 to 6,500 square feet. The residential homes will be on the second floor and contain two bedrooms and 2 baths. The company has started pre-leasing, but the project has not yet started any construction.
“It is our plan for the Railroad District of Ridgeland to become a more walking, shopping, and dining destination,” McGee said. “We hope to attract new restaurants and retail shops to the Jackson Street area that will add to the great businesses that are already there. Our plan is to make Jackson Street a destination where people come and enjoy shopping and dining with their family and friends.”
McGee said he would love to see new restaurants move to Jackson Street, and he’d also like to see an ice cream shop, a jewelry store and other business join the area that would be supported by the surrounding neighborhoods and destination visitors.
“Our goal is to not only deliver an outstanding Master Plan for the Railroad District, but we also plan to get serious about budgeting funds to implement the recommendations,” McGee said. “A portion of the plan will include signage to support the branding of the destination area.”
While developments are filling up Jackson Street, there are still a few vacant lots available.
McGee said Methodist Rehab, Magnolia Family Dental, Gamblin Orthodontics, and the Methodist Church have undeveloped parcels along Jackson Street that could support future developments.
“In addition, there remain several redevelopment opportunities with some of the older properties,” McGee said. “For more information on these lots, interested parties are encouraged to contact Bryan Johnson at 601-856-3877.”
