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Old 07-21-2010, 10:51 PM
 
235 posts, read 424,536 times
Reputation: 77

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Jackson Mayor Supports Developer's Plan For MetroCenter - Jackson News Story - WAPT Jackson (http://www.wapt.com/news/24343645/detail.html - broken link)

The link also has two other stories WAPT has done about a possible Metrocenter redevelopment. I think this is a great ideal. It would allow for the Metrocenter to have an actual purpose again. I also hope Mayor Johnson is serious about unveiling future development plans. For Jackson to survive, all of Jackson will have to thrive and grow, and I'm happy to see West Jackson and South Jackson to get some of the development love.
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Old 07-22-2010, 09:45 AM
 
Location: Madison, MS
64 posts, read 237,227 times
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Wow! Pretty lofty aspirations. However, I will say while I have about as much faith in Harvey as I do in me winning the lottery tomorrrow, I do believe in David Watkins, he is the king of movers and shakers in our area.
However, I think that the stigma attached to that area is already so bad that it would be hard to get the people with expendable cash to support a waterpark to frequent it. And the combination of a waterpark and housing development makes it even harder to comprehend.
With that being said, I hope someone does something and I hope it is sucessful.
My POV is that they need to start at controlling crime and improving the way of life of the citizens of these areas before they start building entertainment venues. But, hey, what do I know?
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Old 07-22-2010, 11:11 AM
 
235 posts, read 424,536 times
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I respectfully disagree. All great cities have problems with crime, butthey didn't allow that to stagnate their growth. Fact) Jackson has a crime problem. Fact) Jackson has a brain drain problem because of its lack of uan urban envrironment and entertainment options. These are not mutually exclusive issues. It is possible to attack both problems and allow the alliviation of one to help solve the other, I.e. if more people stay in Jackson then there is more tax dollars to help fund crime prevention and education. These issues are more connected than people would like to believe.
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Old 07-23-2010, 07:17 AM
 
Location: Mississippi
190 posts, read 692,453 times
Reputation: 196
It sounds like, from the article, this is 3 - 7 years away from being a possibility. It would seem that for an indoor water park and movie theatre to come to fruition, there would first have to be considerable improvements made throughout the entire area in all aspects, which would obviously require considerable commitment and action from the residents of the area, the city, and other developers willing to invest. Before that type of family entertainment venue comes in, much will have to change. Attracting the bar crowd to run down areas with new developments is one thing, but getting families with the needed disposable to support ideas such as this is a completely different animal.

If the developer can go ahead an purchase the property now at a rock bottom price, then at worst break even with tenants such as JPS moving in now, probably not a bad gamble. At worst it wouldn't be much if anything lost.
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Old 07-24-2010, 04:13 PM
 
4,383 posts, read 4,234,636 times
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My first thought was the foundation. Has anyone driven around Metrocenter lately? It's like a roller coaster. How are they going to be able to build a wave pool that won't crack in a few years?

On the other hand, moving JPS to the old Belk site is a stroke of genius. The land that JPS has downtown is much more valuable as an income source. And the district can save a lot of money by consolidating its services somewhat in order to cut down on interoffice transportation costs.

It would also be great if they could build a fitness center for staff and students in the district. It would probably get the district a discount for its employees' health insurance because the general health would improve.

A third facility that would be good for the district to have is an arena that could be used for the big basketball games and graduation exercises, eliminating the need to rent facilities from JSU and the Coliseum.
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Old 08-16-2010, 04:13 PM
 
235 posts, read 424,536 times
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http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/inde...hanger_081310/

I honestly think this would be great for the city. Not only would the school district save money, but all of the school district's current land could be developed into something truly wonderful for the city. Think of the amount of condos, hotels, restaurants, etc, this could bring to the city. Not only downtown but to the Metrocenter area, as well. I'm happy to see that David Watkins is already talking to companies about a potential theater in the area. I Watkins and his partner are seriously considering a true I-MAX theater. I'm not sure if the Jackson metro has an I-MAX theater, but if not, that could be a huge draw to the Metrocenter Mall theater complex. I'm so excited for my home city, and I can't wait to see what it will look like in 10 years.
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Old 08-19-2010, 06:09 PM
 
235 posts, read 424,536 times
Reputation: 77
I found the actual proposal with a few concept renderings on the Clarion Ledger. I hope you all are as inspired by this as I am. I think this project will be awesome for West Jackson and can't wait to hear about Watkins and company breaking ground.

http://www.clarionledger.com/assets/pdf/D0161093720.PDF
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Old 08-19-2010, 06:12 PM
 
235 posts, read 424,536 times
Reputation: 77
Also, I just realized that David Watkins Facebook page has renderings that the Clarion Ledger article does not have. I didn't link it because I wasn't sure if it would be okay to, but I definitely encourage people to go check it out. It's awe-inspiring.
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Old 09-24-2010, 05:17 PM
 
235 posts, read 424,536 times
Reputation: 77
More signs that a West Jackson renaissance is coming. Mayor Johnson has really surprised with his current term. It seems that he has a mission and is truly trying to make it come to fruition. I hope he continues on this path.

http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/inde...street_091710/
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Old 09-26-2010, 11:58 AM
 
235 posts, read 424,536 times
Reputation: 77
go80

I just found this. It has a lot of concept drawings and other information about West Jackson plans. I hope you're as inspired as I am!
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