Jackson Jambalaya

This is great news! Word is that this building will be converted to over 50 apartments and a huge restaurant / bar on the first floor. Word also is that tha Lamar Life building downtown will be announcing conversions to a mixed use apartment deal that St. Andrews is partnering in. Spouse to be announced in October too?!?!?

8:53 I assume that spouse was to be "supposed". In any event, this Ridgeland guy says kudos. We need a strong Capital City.

YAWN.

St Andrews? School or xhurch?

I heard the church is moving the admin offices to the second or third floors of Lamar Life building. A walkway will be built from the LL to the parking garage for the top 7 or 8 floors of apartments.

Really going o be cool. Heard Mattiace is doing it.

Yeah these projects prove beyond a doubt that Jackson the city is doomed. All that wasted private money. Everybody knows that Tom Tardy (Eastland Courthouse deal) and Andrew Mattiace (Lamar Life) are both terrible businessmen and developers. Right.

Wow good news indeed. I am going to the meeting to get it all firsthand.

The downtown strategy has FAILED.

Hope it keeps failing, 4:08, if you were not being sarcastic.

Adding these units to the downtown inventory will be a big plus to the synergy being created there. This is good news indeed.

I am a Team Jackson member (like over 100 companies/organizations). If you haven't been to a meeting, try this one. What you learn and see is really inspiring. You will be in a room full of believers and workers.

Maybe the wholesale haters will come, ask tough questions, and post the answers here. If history is a guide, they won't even show up. Too easy to be negative via ignorance.

I am so proud of Tom and Jason Watkins on this Courthouse deal. This will be the "nicest" in the state.

The downtown strategy has clearly FAILED. 2 new apartment developments equal FAILED.

8:20 is clearly tongue in cheek. Or crazy. I can't wait to move in.

Where is the loudmouth hater? You know. The guy that comments over and over to himself trashing Jackson. ???

I wish the best for anyone who is willing to sink their own money into an ambitious project like this.

It is their own money, correct?

Do you also feel sorry for the people that invested in the King Ed?

I'm not putting my money on downtown Jackson, but I don't see why some people feel compelled to root for Jackson's failure. If people want to make a go of it, kudos to them. I wish them well. I would certainly rather see them succeed than fail, why do others feel otherwise?

They root for Jackson to fail because they left Jackson when the AA became majority and they are bigots.

News flash. The Hertz Investment Group is converting the old Deposit Guaranty Plaza into 103 upscale apartments. Announcement in November.

The downtown strategy "failure" continues.

You know, it's a whole lot easier for us Jackson supporters in the suburbs (and there are some of us) to wish y'all well when y'all aren't behaving like a bunch of juvenile assholes.

Jackson has a host of problems. The suburbs have problems of their own. People choose where they want to live and deal with the problems that come with it.

Reality lies somewhere between "Jackson is the next Detroit" and "Only a racist would live in the suburbs." Good people live in both places. Too many of y'all can't be happy with whatever good things are happening where you've decided to live. You need some schadenfreude to really feel good. How messed up is that?

Shalom.

9:50 please tell me you are not kidding. That will be awesome!!!!

Really proud of my city right now. Downtown will be the beacon carrying us through this statewide malaise. Thank you DJP, for all you do. We are growing up quite well.

7:43 haven't you heard??? The downtown strategy is a FAILURE.

ROFLMAO. Y'all have been smoking some good weed the last few days. Jackson's downtown the beacon carrying the state. LOL LOL LOL

Sure is 8:42. Read it and weep. Where have you been, loser?

The downtown strategy is clearly a FAILURE. NOTHING is happening downtown for sure.

10:26, you are CLEARLY the SAME PERSON as 4:08, 8:20, and 8:25. Either that, or you literally have such a problem coming up with an original thought, that you can only post what other people have already written (almost verbatim, caps and all).

If you wish to believe downtown is such a clear failure, then fine. No one is forcing you to come here; no one is forcing you to talk about downtown; no one is even forcing you to even think about downtown. So good news, you can go about your existence, wherever you may be, without having to even acknowledge the existence of downtown Jackson. We won't be missing you much.

Of course, that is a simple task at which you have CLEARLY FAILED, as it is obvious that you are quite obsessed with downtown for whatever reason that may be. Must be fun to be you.

I smell sarcasm 11:53.

Hope the project isn't going to require any public monies including TIFs because Mayor Lumbumba has some surprises in store for those who are naive. We are growing up quite well.

9:25 see my comment 9/9 at 12:19.

No one has answered that question yet.

9:25 do you have a clue on how TIF's work? The entire city is a TIF district and has been for years. Developers pay the taxes in a TIF district. I think you are clueless.

8:15 I wasn't limiting my question to just TIFs. Was the beef plant fiasco a TIF problem?

Well loser at11:58 why don't you bring your expert ass to the meeting Tuesday and ask your very thoughtful and inspired questions yourself? $20 too expensive for your stay at home self?

11:58...waiting for your answer.

11:58 here - this is probably over your head, but I asked a question. That means I'm hoping someone else can provide the answer.

My question is (and I realize the answer may not come until the public announcement is made) is any public money involved in this project? Jackson seems too broke to afford anything, and the state legislature is not in session.

And thank you for your concern over my finances. Since my spouse and I gross over $400K per year the $20 entry fee is not prohibitive. You may not understand this, but the reason we make that kind of salary is that we are at "work", and will be there at the time when this session is planned.

You also probably don't understand that with the income taxes we pay we are concerned about how that money is used, as all taxpayers should be.

But good luck to anyone who invests their own money in a project like this - I wish them the best.

10:07 - no public money. This is a private project, with private money.

So, chill.

Questions for you: do you live in Jackson? How much of that $400k you are bragging about is being reinvested in Jackson?

I was at the meeting. Very impressive.

As was I. This ole city is gonna like itself soon. Awesomeness.

10:18 Here's what the C-L has to say about your "no public money":

"About $6 million of the development’s cost is being covered through tax credits designed to assist in rehabilitating historic buildings while preserving those buildings’ historic aspects. The state Department of Archives and History is working with developers in that capacity."

These are Historic Tax Credits Bubba. They are a good thing. They keep places neat, nice, old and genuine. They help take a tax free building and make it a tax paying building, but we all know that people like you, small and cynical, will have no part of any discussion that is helpful to the community. Too much fun being an invisible prick.

1:40 take your antisocial personality disorder elsewhere. I asked about tax subsidies and was assured "no public money" involved. This $20M project includes $6M of tax credits. Last I heard the taxes I pay (and all taxpayers pay) become "public money". I didn't ask how noble the cause was, I asked how much was coming out of my pocket. The beef plant seemed like a great idea to someone at some time, until it cratered.