Often referred to as the "Crossroads of the South," the metropolitan Jackson, Mississippi, area, comprised of Hinds, Rankin and Madison counties, is located at the intersection of interstates 55 and 20. If you draw a line from Memphis to New Orleans, north to south, and Atlanta and Dallas, east to west, the two lines would intersect in Jackson. This strategic location makes Jackson a natural for any business type interested in the three L's of real estate: location, location, location.

The metropolitan area currently has a population of over 440,000, which reflects an 11 percent increase since 1990. Projections according to local forecasters indicate that the area will continue to grow and should exceed 500,000 by 2015. In spite of the population growth, metro Jackson manages to maintain southern gentility and was named the friendliest city by USA Today in 2000.

All segments of the commercial real estate industry in Jackson have been in a growth pattern for over 5 years and appear to be poised for continued growth.

Retail

On April 17, 2002, Dogwood Festival Market, Jackson's first lifestyle center, bloomed and held a very successful grand opening. This upscale retail development, located on 38.5 acres on Lakeland Drive (Highway 25), contains 302,709 square feet of retail space. Anchors include McRae's, Borders Books & Music, Old Navy and Linens 'n Things. Also in the center line-up is Old Time Commissary, Lenny's Sub Shop, Victoria's Secret, Hallmark Cards, Chico's, Ann Taylor Loft and Kirkland's Home Store. One outparcel is occupied by Chick-fil-A and another is under construction for a freestanding Pier 1 Imports.

One project currently underway is The Township at Colony Park. This development is described as a uniquely master-planned mixed-use community being developed with the style of new urbanism and traditional neighborhood development. The Township at Colony Park will be developed on a 95-acre tract along Highland Colony Parkway and will contain 150,000 square feet of retail space as well as outparcels for restaurants. The retail development will be included in Phase I of the development. Bulldozers are on site and construction will continue through 2002. Pre-leasing is on-going and retail tenants should begin opening during the first quarter of 2003. This project, located centrally to the 1.1 million square feet of office space already in place along Highland Colony Parkway, represents the first retail development in the Highland Colony Parkway area.

In addition to the specific developments mentioned, other retailers new to the metro Jackson market continue to appear. A few of these include Marshalls, Lenny's Sub Shop (two locations), Hibbett Sporting Goods and Fleet Feet.

New restaurants are popping up all over Jackson and the surrounding area. CHAR, a new fine dining venture from Amerigo's Bill Latham, opened recently in Highland Village.

The Strawberry Festival in Madison is now home to Swenson's and McAlister's Deli. Additionally, two new restaurants have signed leases for the new Madison Market to be built by Frazier Development on Highway 51 in Madison.

Moe's Southwest Grill, a new southwestern-fare restaurant chain created by the founders of McAlister's Deli, has opened several area locations. Old Venice Pizza Company opened recently in renovated space off of Interstate 55 North in Jackson. Primos, a Jackson tradition for many years, has relocated with a new style to Lakeland Drive in Flowood.

Hooters, after trying for several years to find a suitable Jackson location, opened their first Mississippi restaurant recently in a renovated building just south of Northside Drive at I-55.

Ruby Tuesday has opened a new stand-alone restaurant on Lakeland Drive at Treetops Boulevard in Flowood.

Hospitality

Hotel and motel occupancy continues to remain high throughout the metro area. Construction of several new properties has been in progress during the past year. Most notable is the new 175-room Drury Inn & Suites, which towers over Interstate 55 at the West County Line Road in Ridgeland. This hotel, which occupies an 8-acre site that is to include two restaurants, is scheduled to open soon.

Red Roof Inn and Microtel have opened new limited service motels on I-20 at Highway 80 in Brandon just east of Jackson in Rankin County. Ramada Limited Express is planning a new facility on Interstate 20 at Springridge Road in Clinton, just west of Jackson.

Office

Metro Jackson is well positioned to maintain its reputation as an attractive office investment market. Jackson contains approximately 6.7 million total square feet of office space with a vacancy rate of only 7.8 percent as of September 2001, according to the 2001 Jackson Office Guide published by Parkway Realty Services. This represents a decline in vacancy from 8.4 percent in September 2000. The sublease opportunities have driven the rental rates down slightly, particularly in the central business district (CBD).

The Jackson metro market includes sectors known as the CBD, I-55/County Line Road, I-220/Highland Colony Parkway and Lakeland Drive. Except for the CBD, which contains 47.8 percent of the total square footage, the balance of office space is closely divided between I-220/Highland Colony with 14.8 percent, Lakeland Drive with 15 percent and I-55/County Line with 22.4 percent.

There are several notable office developments that have been completed recently or are nearing completion. A 20,000-square-foot facility known as the 1300 Meadowbrook Building is located in the I-55 North Corridor of the city. This development is 100 percent pre-leased and will be complete this year. Concourse 400, a 50,000-square-foot building on Highland Colony Parkway in the northern portion of the metro area in Ridgeland, was recently completed.

Scheduled for completion in January 2003 is the 75,000-square-foot Highland Bluff North. Currently approximately 45,000 square feet is pre-leased. The tenant roster will include the investment firm of Salomon Smith Barney, Inc. and the law firm of Wells, Moore, Simmons & Hubbard, each of which will be relocating their offices from the CBD to this I-55 North location. The Township at Colony Park, located on Highland Colony Parkway, will include approximately 230,000 square feet of office product, which should commence construction in 2003.

The Township will also include other uses such as retail, "live- above" retail/residential, single-family residences, condominiums and townhouses.

Industrial

Construction is in high gear for Nissan's new 2.6 million-square-foot, $930 million plant, north of Jackson in Madison County. This project, situated on 1,400 acres, is a Yates/Walbridge-Aldinger joint venture. In addition to the Nissan Plant and major highway construction, eight facilities totaling more than 650,000 square feet are well underway for nine tier-one suppliers: Calsonic Kansel North America, Johnson Controls, Lextron, Mi-Tech Steel, PPG Industries, Systems Consultants Associates, T&WA, Tower Automotive and Visteon. Three of the plants are being built adjacent to the Nissan plant and four plants are within a 2-mile radius of Nissan.

Nissan's tier-two suppliers have begun evaluating the area's available warehouse space. There is every indication that Nissan-related suppliers will absorb most of the currently vacant space within the next 12 to 18 months.

Employment and training are already underway at Nissan. Nissan and its suppliers are expected to create more than 6,000 manufacturing jobs for the Jackson metro area. The plant is equipped to produce 250,000 vehicles annually. The manufacturing plant is scheduled to open in the summer of 2003.

In anticipation of an increase in demand for warehouse space, private developers have begun construction of several smaller warehouse projects south of the Nissan plant in Gluckstadt and near Jackson International Airport in Pearl.

Nancy Lane, CCIM and Bill Cook, CCIM are with Cook Commercial Properties in Jackson, Mississippi.


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