Jackson Jambalaya

Score: Speakah Philip Gunnsmoke = WIN

Leland Speed = LOSS

Glad the MDOR will be out of that tin thing......

sucks for Jackson

Here comes the next wave of Kingfish-Speed, ah, advertisements.

ROFLMAO ... DJP whiffs again.

Perhaps in the name of business efficiency other state agencies should be dispersed to Madison, Byram, Brandon, Canton, etc. The state capitol could be moved to Pelahatchie.

It is refreshing to see so many supporters of smaller, more limited government. Of course choosing the $40 million option is more cost effective than the $7.5 option, right? Looks like the DFA and the thirty hissing possums are one in the same after all. Can this state's government do ANYTHING right?

I haven't dug too deep on this, but how can buying a building for $7.4 million be more expensive than spending $40 million plus over the life of a 20 year lease? This is a tad smelly...

Something tells me that now that the process is open, this will be vigorously vetted to compare lease versus buy. Could get interesting.....and sticky

Kingfish, Since The State of Mississippi has $33 million to blow, do you think it would agree to pay off all my law school loans? I mean the state is obviously in a pretty generous mood, as in the more money it spends, the better. At least then, I would benefit from them making a bone-headed decision.

Total cost of $41 million comes to $220 per square foot. To put this in perspective, I heard that Parkway built the Pinnacle for around $37 million or so (excluding parking garage improvements). I believe that Pinnacle is around 190K square feet, so it comes to $195 per square foot. Great recommendation DFA. The parking, security and janitorial services much drive a helluva premium.

And 1:36, that is to LEASE not own as Parkway did.

"I haven't dug too deep on this, but how can buying a building for $7.4 million be more expensive than spending $40 million plus over the life of a 20 year lease? This is a tad smelly"

The only rationale I can see is that this would cost $2M this year (and every year thereafter) as opposed to having to come up with $7.4M. On the other hand, isn't that what bonds are for?

Not sure why so many people believe that if they buy the Landmark center, there will be zero operational costs for the next 20 years. Things like maintenance, water and electricity. Those things come packaged in a lease. If you own it, those are all your costs. Please compare apples to apples.

1:58 get real. Do you actually think those factors have not been considered?

Since the proposal and all information in it are now sealed by court order, one can only surmise.

They sealed it to keep everyone from knowing how BOGUS it is.

Why the hell do you allow a proposal for a state agency location with costs be sealed from public view? What are they hiding?

Most long term leases have escalator clauses for taxes and insurance. So they are likely just guessing at the cost. If the State buys a building there are no taxes, but if they lease, the owner would have to pay taxes and I doubt that they will go down. Insurance will likely go up over 20 years also.

clintonrebel, the DFA statement indicates that security and janitorial are included, but does not indicate that it's a full service lease. It may be though... Who knows since the proposal is sealed.

The numbers are probably closer than you’d think.

My guess is parking was what tipped the scales for South Pointe. The garage on E. Capitol Street (owned by the JRA) is $85 dollars per month retail. It would take a giant leap in faith to assume the JRA was smart enough to offer some concession and if they didn’t:

600 spaces * 85 per month * 12 months per year * 20 years = 12.24 million

Let’s assume there was a concession and say parking was $10 million, plus $7.5 for the building, then operating expenses would have to be less than $6.25 per sq. foot per year (and I would guess $7.50 per sq. ft. annually as a baseline figure) in order for the Landmark deal to be cheaper than South Pointe. And while there would be no taxes if the State owned the Landmark building, the building is in desperate need of capital and tenant improvements above and beyond the purchase price. These costs would then fall to the state. There is a reason a building of this age sits empty… and it is years of neglect from a long distance owner.

All that said I would like to see the proposals, but I just don’t think it is as clear cut as $41 mill vs. $7.5. I really do hate it for downtown.

Not so 2:31. The DFA material says janitorial and security are additional and the lessee's responsibility.

Hey 3:06 all you have are assumptions. We need the records unsealed for Duckworth to compare. Period.

So much for transparency in government................ They want to spend our money but we don't have the right to get the details. I just don't see how they can seal these documents.

I do like moving the capitol to Pelahatchie and make Knox Ross the Governor. Aside from all of that, I'd like to point out the vast difference between $41.4 million and $7.5 million. Works out to $33.9 million for maintenance cost over 20 years or $1,695,000 per year (comparing apples to apples, of course). Also, I'd like to point out that the $41.4 million is NPV and inflated dollars over the 20 year period. ......But now that I think about it, the political subsidy tax of at least a couple million is included in that $41.4 million. Let's me conservative and make the political subsidy and payoff tax of $5 million. That's better.....

4:39
so you and the chicken Plucker are in agreement, he thought the Overlay was a bad investment.

“While this is an exciting day for Clinton, our state government continues to lack any strategic plan for locating agencies, saving money, and consolidating office space,” he [Blount] said in a press statement. “Decisions are made on an ad hoc basis, often influenced by who holds the most political power at the moment.“

And it ain't you Blount!

Why didn't the suddenly cost-of-government conscious Senator previously introduce legislation in his other 5 legislative sessions to consolidate office space?

Because he was not Chairman of the Public Properties Division then, with blessings from the Lt. Gov. then oh ignorant one. IE: he had no clout then.

7:01 thank you.. I love it when factual people call out stupid people.

Whatever you say Einstein. You don't need a chair to introduce legislation and, by the looks of Blount's stellar work this year, he has no more clout than he did before Reeves.

MWA are you stalking AGAIN????!

Which value is greater, $40 million or $7 million? If you correctly guessed $40 million, then you must be over-qualified to work for the DFA. Pathetic.

Check out RFP 4000, which is also sealed. RFP 4000 is a 10 year eclusive contract for network services that AT&T won and it is also sealed. The prices for Internet service are $23/Mbps and market rates are 50-60% less than that today. Not to mention other network services that state agencies, (we the tax payers) are spending too much for. The gubment continues to stick it to the taxpayer.

Haha it's sad when our state government is almost as bad as Jackson's government at making economical decisions... And why is it that Mississippi struggles to attract industry again?

"Downtown is dying"

- Ben Allen
- MS Business Journal
- January 28, 2013

5:33: congratulations... Did you celebrate that last night?

The problem is in our statutory requirements.

You might ask construction and government procurement attorneys in MS what changes are needed to make the state bidding process more competitive. Many have been recommending changes for decades and the bid protests made reflect the problems.

Ironically, Mississippi companies are often damaged in favor of out of state companies as the monetary value of keeping the tax dollars at work in the state is never part of the equation.