[quote]Developers are directed to account for ‘slow progress'[/quote]
The Jackson Redevelopment Authority wants developers of the Farish Street Entertainment District to give it a specific update on the oft-delayed development’s progress.
A week after the Jackson City Council passed a resolution slamming what it described as the project’s slow progress, JRA voted Wednesday to set up a public meeting with Farish Street Group, led by David Watkins, so developers can spell out where they stand.
A date hasn’t been set.
“That way, everybody will know. This is publicly owned land,” said JRA board member John Reeves.
Watkins said he welcomes the chance to show the highly-scrutinized development is moving forward. “We go before the JRA (practically) every other month. It’s routine for us. We want them to know what we’re doing.”
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. and the council have been invited to attend. Johnson said whether he’ll be able to make it depends on his schedule, but said the meeting is a good idea. “I’m fairly comfortable with how the process is moving. The public does have an interest in what’s going on.”
Last week, the council voted 4-2 for an internal audit of the development, but the city’s oversight remains in question. Ward 1 Councilman Quentin Whitwell, an attorney for Watkins, abstained.
Watkins last week blasted the vote as “ludicrous.” JRA owns the land he is leasing for the entertainment district.
JRA executive director Jason Brookins said the city has not formally requested an audit. The agency has asked developers to bring any documentation related to tenant signings, while allowing for any information that’s potentially proprietary to be taken up in executive session.
JRA voted earlier this year to temporarily delay rent payments due from developers in exchange for a list of signed tenants and how much has been spent on the district.
Brookins said he’s received a lease execution sheet between Farish Street Group and B.B. King’s Blues Club but not a full contract between the parties.
“The city council wants to see where that project is,” he said. “They’re frustrated … just like we all are.”
Watkins says he’s sent other leasing documents to JRA attorneys for review.
Fourteen music clubs are slated to be open on Farish Street, once the center of African-American life in Jackson, by next summer as part of the first block of the roughly $100 million development.
A second block is to include recording studios and office space for music-related businesses. Efforts to redevelop portions of Farish Street have been ongoing for years.
Watkins and his team took the project over three years ago after numerous disagreements between original developer Performa Entertainment of Memphis and Jackson officials.
The local team took on $1.8 million in Performa’s debt in the process. That includes a $1 million loan from the Mississippi Development Authority which Watkins said the agency has agreed to defer payment on until the clubs open.
The switch in developers, rigorous historic redevelopment requirements and a recession have caused the entertainment district’s projected opening date to be pushed back multiple times.
“We’re frustrated, too,” Reeves said. But he adds Watkins is “a true hero in the city for what he’s done” in bringing the King Edward Hotel and Standard Life buildings back to life.
Watkins has said the shells of the buildings are done.
JRA board member Greg Green said,”They’ve been giving us explanations for three years. We need to handle our business.”
– Jeff Ayres | Clarion Ledger
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