Raney Rives can take an ugly metal building and add brick, stucco and other details to the exterior, so it looks brand new.
He used that formula to transform a small retail center on U.S. Highway 51 in Ridgeland and applied it to a project he is completing.
“I love to see the ugly stuff turn into something pretty,” said Rives, age 60, a developer and contractor responsible for breathing new life into numerous buildings on Highway 51 in Ridgeland.
In 2019, Rives received the Gene F. McGee Economic Development Award for renovating and remodeling old buildings and changing the look of Highway 51.
The award recognized Rives for transforming the building at 588 Highway 51 that once held Johnson Lawn & Outdoor Equipment and now houses Grills of Mississippi.
“The transformation was so stark,” Rives recalled. “The only thing I saved was one wall.”
Rives’ latest project isn’t just one building but consists of renovating an entire block on Highway 51 that stretches from Century Place north to the next street, which is not marked by a sign with its name.
About a year and a half ago, he purchased the property and buildings at 608 Highway 51 (Suites A, B, C, D, E, F and G) and 602 Highway 51, which is where Sno Biz is located, from Sandra Bethea.
Bethea’s parents, Joyce and John Allegrezza, owned and operated Allegrezza Piano Co., which had a showroom filled with uprights and grand pianos on part of the property.
One of the buildings in the block that Rives remodeled inside and out once housed Affordable Mattress outlet and Hotel Meow boarding facility for cats, both of which are out of business. Honeybee Maternity & Baby and Mary Buckley Art Studio are now located in that building, the exterior of which sports Raney’s signature mix of brick, stucco and other details.
Also remodeled inside and out is the former piano showroom space occupied by Lauren Egger Designs. A wholesale florist plans to move into the adjoining space and just a few steps away is Carter Louise Antiques.
Two general contractors, Luckett Homes and Cadena Smith, will occupy offices and warehouse space at the back of the property.
“I’ve got it all leased out,” Rives said. “I’m finishing out the last three suites. I’m in the middle of working on the space for the contractors and the wholesale florist, and I’ve got some landscaping to finish.”
McGee praised the work that’s been done so far.
“This renovation is a shining example of what happens when private investment and public vision come together,” he said. “The developer’s commitment to excellence and to our community’s long-term growth has turned this project into something truly special. It’s an investment that will serve our residents and businesses for years to come.
As part of the project he is finishing, Rives tore down four buildings that faced U.S. 51.
One was a two-story white house that had Sew Simple clothing alteration service as the tenant; Sew Simple is now located at 125 E. Ford St. in a property that Rives owned.
Also demolished was another house, a metal building where a personal trainer had a business and another building used as a paint shop for the piano company.
Rives said he sold that property to someone who plans to construct a new building that will front Highway 51.
“That will be phase one of what’s going to be built on that property,” he said. “I’m going to work with them on the design of the building. They want to build some more on the back side of the property.”
Before Rives embarked on his most recent work, he remodeled a small center at 610 Highway 51 that is north of the current project he is finishing. He dressed up the exterior of that center with brick, stucco and other details and redid the interior. The Shoe Healer, Super Shakes, She Is 31:25 boutique, The Classy Spa and #HairBar are tenants.
“The gentleman who owned the shopping center called me and asked me if I wanted to do something with the building,” he said. “That whole shopping center was a dump. I designed it myself and gave it to an architect to put on paper.”
Josh Harkins of Lane-Harkins Commercial Real Estate said projects to redevelop property are good for the “street scene” and can improve property values.
What determines the financial success for developer is how much a property is bought for, how much is spent to improve it and how much income results from it, he said.
An entrepreneur, Rives opened Raney’s Carpet Care in Ridgeland in 1986.
“I started off renting a building,” he said. “I was just 21 years old. I was bound and determined to own my own stuff.”
He has relocated his business by choice numerous times in Ridgeland, often staying on Highway 51 or near it.
“The formula I used was this: I would buy a building, and the bank would loan me the money because Raney’s Carpet Care was the tenant,” he said. “I would keep the business there and if it was big enough, I would divide it up and let the rent other people paid help pay my mortgage.”
All the while, he would also keep an eye out for another building he could buy and move his business into in case another business desired the space occupied by his carpet care business.
Large, old metal buildings on Highway 51 offer an opportunity for someone to renovate them inside and outside and divide them into smaller spaces that can be leased to tenants, he said. Leasing is how an owner can make money and that can provide additional taxes for the city, he said.
“That’s the only way you can make the numbers work,” Rives said. “You can hardly find one person who wants a whole building.”
A resident of Madison, Rives sees little opportunity on Highway 51 in Madison for what he does.
“You don’t see any of these metal buildings when you go into Madison,” he said. “They’re all in Ridgeland.”
Rives works alone on his redevelopment projects, while operating his service business.
He buys a structure, envisions the design for remodeling, draws it out himself and works with an architect on official plans, subs out the work to be done and finds tenants for the newly renovated space. He sells some of the buildings he transforms and keeps others and leases space in them.
“I’ve done all of this myself,” he said. “It’s just me and the Lord and the bank.”
Jonathan Huddleston, who owns Grills of Mississippi, said he’s happy for the progress in improving the look along Highway 51 but there are still some rundown shopping centers that need to be revamped.
“There’s still room for improvement,” he said. “There’s still more work to be done.”
McGee expects the transformation of Highway 51 to carry on.
“This trend has been going on for many years, and we expect that it will continue,” he said.
