SOUTHEAST SNAPSHOT, APRIL 2010

Jackson Office Market

The Jackson, Mississippi office market remains strong with occupancy rates of 81 percent and average rental rates of $19 per square foot. As the state capital, government is the driving force for local real estate, and recently, the public sector has been working with private developers to establish partnerships.

With more than $600 million in private and public development during the last couple of years in the Central Business District (CBD), companies are intrigued by downtown’s revitalization. The King Edward restoration by HRI Properties, Watkins Partners and Deuce McAllister is an example of where local government property was transformed into a new 186-room Hilton Garden Inn combined with 64 newly leased apartments. Fondren Place is another public/private partnership where Peters Real Estate and the Mattiace Company partnered with Jackson Public Schools to convert a former school to boutique shops, restaurant space and a new 37,500-square-foot office building with retail space.

The construction of the Jackson Convention Complex has spurred hotel development to support Jackson’s first convention center with the nearly completed Sleep Inn and the newly renovated Clarion Hotel Roberts Walthall. Eley Guild Hardy Architects fell in love with a Neo-classical Revival style former bank and is transforming it into a LEED-certified building for their Jackson office.

The Standard Life Building conversion from office to residential will be completed in early Fall, and the first phase of the Farish Street Entertainment District, both by Watkins Partners, will open by the end of the year. Parkway Properties contributed to downtown Jackson’s revitalization with the Pinnacle at Jackson Place, 192,000 square feet of new Class A office space in the core of downtown. The CBD’s occupancy rate is 76 percent with an average rental rate of $18 per square foot.

The Interstate 55 corridor continues to remain steady with occupancy rates at 84 percent and rental rates at $18 per square foot. The area remains attractive due to the easy access to all parts of the metro area and the established shopping destinations along I-55 and on the County Line retail district.

The northern suburbs have seen a large amount of growth in the office submarket and retail sector, most notably on Highland Colony Parkway. H.C. Bailey Companies has developed an office corridor along the Parkway with 200 Renaissance recently adding more than 324,000 square feet of Class A office space to the market. The new office building is adjacent to the recently opened lifestyle center, Renaissance at Colony Park, providing the area upscale retail and restaurant options. Parkway Development contributed to the growth of the submarket with Sorrento II, adding 144,000 square feet of Class A space.

The Lakeland Drive submarket has occupancy rates of 84 percent with rental rates at $17 per square foot. In recent years, the medical sector has grown, and the submarket is capitalizing on that growth. River Oaks Hospital recently completed a 145,000-square-foot expansion, and the Chamblee Company has added a 40,000-square-foot office building, Stone Creek Place, to accommodate the growth. With the growing retail and restaurant offerings, Lakeland Drive will continue to be an attractive location

— John Gomez is the associate director with Downtown Jackson Partners.

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