The Landmark Center on Capitol Street now belongs to the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority. MRHA purchased the building from Landmark Property Company, LLC in July 2021.
Once a well, landmark of Downtown Jackson, the Landmark Building has been vacant for several years. Plans to rehabilitate the building never materialized. Obtaining parking was reportedly an issue as Hertz owns the adjacent parking lots.
Catastrophe struck the Landmark during the 2021 ice storm when pipes burst on the fifth floor. The heat was not turned on during the winter so no one was in the building. Water flowed for several days before it was turned off. As seen in the video, water completely covered the first floor and poured through the front door.
Needless to say, the building was ruined. No major repairs were observed to take place since the ice storm.
The transfer to the Housing Authority means nearly $200,000 in property taxes disappeared. Part of the equity economy.
As for the video posted below, just because.
73 comments:
Here comes section 8 housing, downtown to level the teeter totter with the Wathall Lofts, now it will be diverse and equitable on that end of Capital Street.
New home for Rukia's Credible Messenger Academy and Thugs Boot Camp.
So much rot. So much mold.
Why buy this wreck, instead of forcing the owners to deal with the problems?
Any fool can see that building worth at least tree fiddy!
Slap on a coat of paint and buff them toilet bowls then flip it for bank!
If, it becomes low (no) income housing...u can kiss what is left of downtown goodbye.
Any info as to the purchase price?
does MS care about housing homeless in a broken down building? apparently not.
Attn 11:40 Don’t know asking price, but back taxes are $193,000.00. And I am pretty sure this figure needs updating. So, that is a good starting point.
Need to triple that CCIP force. Doubling won't be enough.
How many 96 gallon cans with festooned C of J logo will the location require?
The building has “good bones” and is in a prime location. This housing authority will get a funding windfall when the Democratic Party blue wave sweeps this entire nation by the end of this decade. Maybe even sooner if voting rights are extended to the immigrant population. The WEF places a very high importance on housing equality.
Rome continues to burn............
Water running several days inside that building must have caused horrific damage. Bulldoze it.
No doubt the former owners are smiling today at their good fortune of having unloaded to some stupid agency rubes the dump that hit their bottom line for $1.25M in property taxes alone over the past 7 years. David Blount gets his wish for govt ownership but won't come close to enjoying the pipe dream of results he coveted.
Will this news run the rest of the businesses out of downtown Jackson?
Looks like the FBI building in Jackson, MS
Hey Mike, happy camper now? Make sure you roll out the welcome mat for your new neighbors. I'm sure you'll see them on the street so say 'Hello'.
Could have torn it down and built a new arena there 100% funded by taxpayer backed bond debt.
Missed opportunity to farm a downtown red-ink elephant herd.
I was a little surprised to learn there was still running water in downtown Jackson.
Mississippi Republicans using your taxpayer dollars to rescue failed Republican capitalists. Same old same old.
Mike who?
No worries, the democratic congress is passing out money in buckets, HUD will pony up the funds for repairs and the good citizens of Jackson Plantation will have more handouts coming. King Bennie got to keep the freebies coming.
Dees may be onto something. Placing Sec 8 housing smack dab into downtown Jackson. Brilliant. The Emperor wants equity and what better way to bless him with some.
Bill Dees, that's about the dumbest shit you have ever said, and that was a pretty high bar to jump.
Just how do you get to the concept that Miss Republicans had anything to do with the funding of this boondoggle? Inquiring minds don't really want to know but it would be interesting to see how such a twisted mind works.
The water leak ran down the walls for days, inundating everything, filling the elevator pits and totaling what few offices were occupied (it was mostly empty; the cafeteria and convivence store were long gone)
It went on for days and nights and (apparently) was not noticed until someone saw water leaking out of the doors and onto the sidewalk
.
Somebody had to have known what was happening. If not, the incompetence is staggering.
Low income housing in this area is an upgrade at this point. Especially if the walls are lined with Kevlar.
Why wasn't the property insured for this potential scenario? Jeez.....
2:02 PM
Jones.
Mike. Jones.
✅ I’m not a robot
Ok Governor, time to step in and take control of your neighborhood.
@12:41 and @2:42 So y'all are saying that water ran in this building for consecutive days? That's pretty good actually. Many places in Jackson would love to have running water for 2-3 days in a row.
Former owners leased very small office to Richard Schwartz few years ago! I’m told that proved pivotal in the large insurance claim filed after flooding. They cashed out, had building appraised then donated to Housing Authority for another pay day.
Doesn't somebody on a higher state level - like the Dept. of Finance & Administration or the Legislature or governor - have to approve this kind of transaction? What's the greater public need this purchase meets? How will the building be used?
What does government have to do with this transaction? Private company sold/donated/traded it to a non-profit.
Since the regional housing authority was created by state legislation, I was just asking whether there was any state supervisory control over the regional housing authority. Not everybody knows everything you do, Kingfish, please be patient with us when we ask for basic information.
4:00. No. The state is not involved, despite Bill Dees trying to make such a claim.
The Regional Housing Authority is not a state entity.
Good point, 5:09.
If the building is developed, what does it do for parking?
Redevelopment would require parking per city codes.
The city can wave that parking requirement, if it chose to do so. And with the plans that this administration was planning and promoting three years ago to create high density residential areas designed without parking areas (dependent on public transportation, bicycles, and walking) were applied to this area they likely may do it.
Don't know if the development would work without parking, but if they can find a lender to fund the project they may not care.
There is no parking problem. There is a Hertz Investment Group problem. Hertz, out of Santa Monica, California owns much of downtown, and their modus operandi across the country is to control the parking. They own the garages, either by lease or outright, and refuse to allow other office buildings that they don't own to park there. They beat them down, to steal their properties. The untold quiet secret is they suck. They strut around like big dogs, especially the head brief case carrier Jim Ingram, who is Judah Hertz's lap dog. They appear to be team players, but in truth they are powerful, self serving assholes.
I’d appreciate a bit of clarification…is this property for low income housing / residential living, or is it for like 1000 administrative offices for RHA?
Food for thought time. It is my understanding Hertz owns all the parking garages downtown. One can probably assume Hertz buildings and tenants get first priority. Will the monopoly affect development of non-Hertz properties downtown?
755, that is not a Hertz problem. Other properties could develop their own parking garages if they cannot rent space from Hertz. Hertz did not originally build or own all these garages; evidently they were a willing buyer from a willing seller.
And KF - same answer. If the other properties want to develop parking, let them do it. There is plenty of property available for sale in the Capitol center area; if the ownership by Hertz is hurting other property owners, its their own damn fault for depending on "somebody else's" development of parking.
That's fair.
8:51 you are so misinformed, dreaming or plain stupid....or on Hertz payroll. Downtown has so much available parking....controlled by The assholes from California....HERTZ. The garages they control were built with tax monies and managed by the Jackson Redevelopment Corporation, who leased them and the control to Hertz. Parking garages cost roughly $20,000 PER SPCAE to build. Very few private developers build their own garages, as the are usually public/private partnerships.
8:51 is correct - and saved me a lot of typing.
Interesting how you people divert the conversation to that of parking problems. The issue here is Jacktown slipping a notch further down into the cauldron of government assisted sloth.
And, yes kingfish, to contradict your assertion that government has nothing to do with private sale and use - government does indeed, through such documents as 'planning and zoning requirements' have a bit to say about present and future use. I don't suggest the plan for use bumps heads with any such zoning requirements - only that you are wrong in your assertion.
Fair enough?
FYI…..the city zoning code says buildings in the CBD…central business district…..don’t have to build parking. But it was stupid when AT&T built that building in 1984/85 without parking. 345,000 square feet…..1,200 people…..the largest building square footage in downtown…..just not sustainable without parking. I forgot….the city built that garage just down the street for AT&T and the Federal building. And, I our JRA is supposed to build others in the CBD….to support the zoning with no parking. So……yes you can now figure out the developers who want to control these buildings by controlling access to parking …..…controlling friends, politicians, etc,etc.
It will cost millions to repair the building. Does the Housing Authority even have the money to fix it?
Hell, don't they get federal money from HUD
Could this building be converted to a hotel to serve the convention center? I’m sure lack of downtown hotel space is the reason the convention center is struggling. (I hope y’all can detect sarcasm).
9:02 is correct, but it is the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, not Corporation. Other than that, 9:02 is spot on.
15 years from now it will still be empty and even more of a health hazard.
Tens of thousands of property taxes disappear. How will Jackson cope?
To the geniuses that are assuming the landmark will be converted into low-income housing is clueless!?
It's safe to assume this will be their new location because their building on Terry Road is old as dirt and antiquated. Plus their building a new apartment building right behind their current office.
They are doing the city a favor by obtaining the Landmark and rehabbing it to make it their main office.
Is the building worth the cleanup and rehab costs? Probably has to be completely gutted.
11:54 ...The leaking roof has already handled the gutting. Lol. Thing about leaking downtown roofs (Chancery) no one seems to be able to fix it. We downtowians low our toxic mold.
@ Kingfish
Is the building worth the cleanup and rehab costs? Probably has to be completely gutted.
If you want me to be honest with you? Yes, I do.
Here's my gripe with the Jackson Metro Area. We are building outward, while not really growing as a metropolitan area. Creating unnecessary urban sprawl.
There are parts of Madison and Rankin dealing with vacancies, the same as Jackson. Jackson is just experiencing that at a higher rate.
Anytime someone is willing to come in and rehabilitate a property of that magnitude in Jackson, that's a plus in my book. Instead of building something that will possibly be vacated 25 years later.
We need more properties rehabbed to cut down on the sprawl.
the convention center?..as if
I don't disagree that urban sprawl is not ideal.
But Jackson basically forced that situation into existence by being openly hostile to any non-minority business.
And most of the minority business too, to be honest.
So to prevent urban sprawl we should spend more to fix the garbage locations in Jackson than the cost of new ones in the suburbs, but we must also accept that the inept leaders WILL stay in control and continue to make horribly irresponsible choices for those that inhabit the rehabbed buildings?
No thanks.
Jackson apologists always bring up sprawl. Just another red herring to misdirect away from the total incompetence and ineptitude that is Jackson.
Finally, a Cheesecake Factory will come to the Jackson area.
This location will be perfect for the next global tech corp that will be created by the intelligent and highly productive urban STEM entrepreneurs graduating from the public school system run by the City with Soul!
6:06!! Some of the hopeless weirdos that hang out at TED Conferences can have a field day with this project, talk and dream it to death, but actually DO nothing. Can't wait!!
"Urban Sprawl"?
What a laugh. Obviously heard that term in a JSU sociology class didn't you? (while having no clue what it actually means)
People getting the hell out of Jackson is not 'sprawl'.
Businesses moving the hell out of Jackson is not 'sprawl'.
Government offices abandoning Jackson is not 'sprawl'.
Business development in other counties is not Jackson 'sprawl'.
Since you don't have a clue, here, let me give you one:
Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growth in many urban areas of housing, commercial development, and roads over large expanses of land, with little concern for urban planning. Wikipedia
Urban flight has been going on all my days, it’s just that Mississippi is 25 years behind. Once the remaining folks that can move to the suburbs, the folks who let first will return.
@ February 23, 2022 at 12:44 AM
People getting the hell out of Jackson is not 'sprawl'.
Businesses moving the hell out of Jackson is not 'sprawl'.
Government offices abandoning Jackson is not 'sprawl'.
Business development in other counties is not Jackson 'sprawl'.
The technical term is, "“the disorganized and unattractive expansion of an urban or industrial area into the adjoining countryside”
Sorry to hurt your little fragile feelings, but technically it is!? Especially, when you are losing residents as a collective!?
It's funny to hear people constantly comparing Jackson to Detroit while repeating the same piss poor development models as the folks that created that mess in Wayne County, Michigan.
You would think with Mississippi being 30 years behind every other state, at least the people in the largest metropolitan area would be wise enough to not repeat the same mistakes from other locales with the same population size, and learn what not to do.
But with Tate Reeves attempting to repeat the same damn fiscal mistakes as Bobby Jindal and Sam Brownback, it's safe to say you are very willing and capable to do the same stupid sh*t!? Consequences be damned!
Building floor plans as per new owner.
1 = Specialty grocery store.
2-5 = Apartments.
6-7 = Office space.
https://www.wlbt.com/2022/02/23/exclusive-new-owner-landmark-center-unveils-plans-apartments-convention-complex-parking-garage/
Thank goodness @8:42 you've decided to remain in Jackson. Mayor Gumflapper needs as many nuts as he can keep.
And.... within 24 hours the housing authority runs to WLBT to show their brand-spanking new plans.
One line stood out: “We try to change the face of affordable housing as an agency that does not have to look at the bottom line,” Johnson said. “We can do a lot more than those who are constrained by profit.”
So Mr. Johnson: What happens if you run out of money? Do you even have a clue what a profit is or the multiple purposes it serves?
Capitol Towers lost Neel-Schaffer last month (moved to Old Canton Rd. behind Highland Village). Capitol Towers is now converting the 9th, 10th, and 11th floors into apartments. Younger Millennials and Older Gen Z are moving to Fondren, Belhaven, Downtown, and LoHo/NE Jackson, and the real estate developers recognize that trend. Everyone weighs their pros and cons differently. For the young professionals, walkability, minimum commute, proximity to food, beverage, and activities, homes with "character" that aren't cookie-cutter, are more important than good public schools (no kids or can afford private), crime, water/sewer, and roads. They see the improvements to N State and Old Canton in Fondren as well as the Savanna St. WWTF as a step in the right direction. The city can do more to improve safety and public schools, of course, but the pros outweigh the cons in their cases. When they get older and have a family they will most likely move to the 'burbs, but it will mainly be for the better schools and policing, and not for the enjoyment of wasting an hour+ in traffic each day. Jackson has to do more to retain these young people. Crime, water/sewer, roads, and school choice. That's it. Everything else is extra and for a city that has those basics already at "Grade A" level. Not holding my breath, but at least some are giving the snowball a chance in h*ll.
Feel sorry for you 11:04 AM. It must be hard battling those delusions.
Are there successful low income apartments run by the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority in low crime areas?
What is the history of this building? I think I remember this building housing AT&T at one time when I was a kid.
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