After the success of the Gluckstadt Park Development, the developer and leasing agent decided to continue providing upscale, modern space for local businesses by creating an additional development called Calhoun Park. However, despite support of local businesses and already having one successful Gluckstadt development, the city’s planning and zoning board decided to table the project due to the building’s design, which is modeled after the current development.
Developer Anthony Morrison talked to a member of the planning and zoning board at the conclusion of the meeting and that member, who he did not name, said the issue was with the straight roof line and the color of the building, which is white. Morrison argued he has three white buildings at Gluckstadt Park directly across from the lot of the new development, which is on the side of Gluckstadt Road where Sullivan’s Marketplace, which also has a straight line roof, is located. That board member said the county approved those buildings, not the city.
“I said, ‘But it still matches’,” Morrison said. “It is not like we are building something that sticks out like a sore thumb. It matches just like it should. It flows, and it looks just like the buildings right across the street from it, which happen to be the biggest development in the entire city. I’m confused.”
The board meeting minutes regarding the agenda item state, “Motion to table for resubmission of new renderings to be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission at its next regular meeting on May 24.”
“You kill an entire month of my opportunity,” Morrison said. “A month costs me a lot of money. The city should be looking at helping developers get projects approved because we are bringing businesses in that are employing people and paying taxes to the city. That is how they make their money.”
The building is planned to model the same look as Gluckstadt Park and have 15,000 square feet with about half of it already having potential leasers. Morrison and leasing agent William Fincher have a local pharmacy that has signed an agreement, and a “popular upscale nail salon’ and local restaurant are also planning to enter space at the development.
“I like to invest where I live,” Morrison said. “Together with William, I’ve been able to put our stamp on the development of the city and bring in opportunities and restaurants. Gluckstadt Park is full of restaurants, and we are already talking to restaurants about Calhoun Park. It gives us an opportunity to bring in businesses, restaurants, services, and things that we know we need in the area. I’m always one who likes to invest where I live.”
Morrison said his developments are set apart because they invest heavily in infrastructure and the building itself. “Instead of just throwing up a cheap building, we went the extra mile to make sure the building looks good,” Morrison said. “It is a very modern building. For me, if you want your business to stand out and have the brand image of a higher end place that can charge higher end prices, then you need to be located in a place that looks and feels and presents itself as higher end. I think for us, what we are going to do with all of our buildings and in every development we do in Gluckstadt, they are always going to be higher end developments.
“I think for us it is all about helping attract higher end clients for businesses that offer higher end services and products,” Morrison said. “To that point, I don’t know about anybody else that is developing in the area but, at Gluckstadt Park, I have four of my own businesses that I am opening inside of that development. When I turn around and put four of my own local businesses in the same development, I’m really putting my money where my mouth is. I’m going to build it and make it as nice as possible because at the end of the day my own businesses are in it as well.”
“Basically what we are doing with Gluckstadt Park and Calhoun Park is establishing a brand if you will for Gluckstadt,” Fincher said. “This is what Anthony’s vision and everybody on our team’s collaborative vision is – a brand image for Gluckstadt.”
This brand and aesthetic of the buildings at the Gluckstadt Park development are why the tenants signed their leases there, and all that gave their opinion said they’d reconsider being at that location if not for the modern, white and black design of the building, according to the developer. Jessie Campbell, who owns Canvas Salon, said her salon has a very modern and upscale aesthetic, and she was looking for a building that showcased that on the outside as well.
“When I was told they were going to have the white brick and the black awnings, that just really went with my aesthetic of the salon,” Campbell said. “I knew it was going to be very modern and high end and the location of the area was also really great. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m excited to see Gluckstadt get more buildings like this.”
Campbell said she would have been hesitant to choose the location if not for its modern design. Owner of Filos Restaurant Pete Efstratiou said he wouldn’t have been nearly as inclined either to enter the space if it didn’t have its artistry.
“In retrospect, I probably wouldn’t be as inclined to go in there (without the design), especially if I had a building like that right next to it to choose from,” Efstratiou said.
Dale Stone, owner of Stone Ground Coffee and Epic Donuts, is new to Mississippi and said he loved the area because it is up and coming.
“We definitely like the white and black contrast in the building,” Stone said. “We think it accents or bolsters our brand. That is really why we took it. We felt like this was different and unique and really popped out to us.” He said if not for the white and black design, they would have continued to look for something that complimented what they were trying to do and the experience they wanted to give their customer and community.
Jeanie Robinson, owner of Lagniappe Gifts, said Morrison is putting a modern look on the small town community feel, which she loves. “It is turning out to be just so clean and chic looking,” Robinson said. “I jumped on the opportunity to rent a space and I’m thankful that I did.”
Robinson said she simply wouldn’t have leased the space without the current design.
“My whole idea behind the store and my store design was kind of a New Orleans style - industrial chic - and I really wanted something that was clean, something that would last and something that signage would be easy to read on the building. I don’t think that I would have gone with it if it would have been a red brick building or a stucco building.”
MTheory Yoga’s Alexa Morrison opened up her business in Ridgeland and is moving to their new location at Gluckstadt Park in June. “I am so excited about being in a new up and coming area,” Alexa Morrison said. “The modern black and white buildings are what really drew me to moving my business.”
Anna McQuillen who owns Sugar Daze Dessert Shop said she chose Gluckstadt Park mainly for the location. “The building being more modern and black and white compliments the aesthetic of my space and logo. I personally think it a nice change from the red brick that has taken over Madison,”McQuillen said.
When a developer goes into Madison, they know what they are walking into and what is expected of them. “Madison is very uniform, and Gluckstadt is not uniform,” Morrison said. My office is white and black. It is sitting next to a building that I built that is red brick. It is across the street from a building that is red brick and tan brick with some of the metal building exposed and, at the end of the street, is the city hall building that is just a big tin building. There is no better picture of the lack of uniformity of Gluckstadt than the very road the city hall sits on. They want it to be brown and beige. To tell me that it has to be a certain color when I don’t see that certain color repeated throughout this city doesn’t make sense to me.”
“It will be up for approval on May 24,” Morrison said. “If people want to continue to see modern, higher end buildings in the City of Gluckstadt, we encourage them to come to the meeting and voice that opinion.”
