CANTON, MISS. — Trammell Crow Co. will develop a 700,000-square-foot Amazon robotics fulfillment center in Canton, about 26 miles north of Jackson along Interstate 55. The project is expected to house 1,000 employees who will pick, pack and ship small items such as books, electronics and toys to customers. This will be the third fulfillment center in the Magnolia State but the first to incorporate Amazon’s robotics technology. The Seattle-based e-commerce giant opened its first Mississippi facility in Byhalia in 2019 and its second in August in Olive Branch. According to Madison County officials, the Canton fulfillment center is expected to deliver in August 2021. Amazon expects to fill the 1,000 jobs by next holiday season.
GULFPORT, MISS. — Gulf Coast Housing Partnership (GCHP) and South Mississippi Housing & Development Corp. (SMHD) have broken ground on the redevelopment of North Park Estates in Gulfport. Phase I of the redevelopment will include demolishing 92 units, 31 of which are uninhabitable, according to the developers. SMHD and GCHP expect to deliver Phase I in summer 2021. The units will be reserved for residents earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI). North Park Estates was originally built in 1959 as the former L.C. Jones public housing complex for the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority No. VIII (MRHA VIII). SMHD acquired the asset in 2008 and rebranded the 160-unit community as North Park Estates. The project was funded, in part, via a $500,000 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from The Peoples Bank and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas).
JACKSON, MISS. — SRS Real Estate Partners has arranged the $6.3 million sale of a single-tenant retail property triple-net leased to Walgreens in Jackson. The 14,550-square-foot building spans 1.7 acres and was built in 2015. There are 15 years remaining on the corporate-guaranteed lease. The Walgreens is situated at 310 Meadowbrook Road, four miles north of downtown Jackson. Matthew Mousavi, Patrick Luther and Parker Walter of SRS represented the seller, an undisclosed family office completing a 1031 exchange. Mark Ruble of Marcus & Millichap represented the undisclosed seller, which also developed the property, in the transaction.
BILOXI, MISS. — A joint venture between California-based Universal Music Group (UMG) and hospitality investment firm Dakia U-Ventures has unveiled plans for a $1.2 billion hotel and music-themed entertainment destination in the coastal Mississippi city of Biloxi. The new development will be the first of the joint venture’s UMUSIC Hotels, with additional locations coming to Atlanta and Orlando. Each hotel and entertainment district is designed to educate guests on the city’s musical heritage and will feature new venues for live performances. Pyramid Hotel Group, a Boston-based hospitality management firm, has also partnered with UMG and Dakia to operate the hotels. The new hotel and entertainment venue in Biloxi will be developed at the site of the former Broadwater resort. A construction timeline was not released. The number of hotel rooms was not disclosed, and the joint venture did not specify whether or not the development will include a casino, as many hospitality properties in Biloxi do. Should the project feature a casino, the hotel would then be legally required to have at least 300 rooms, according to regional news outlet nola.com. Local media outlets have also reported that the price tag of $1.2 billion would make the project the most …
JACKSON, MISS. — NAI UCR Properties has negotiated the sale of a 1-acre parcel located at 629 Fondren Place and 2820 N. State St. in Jackson. The buyer, Wealth Hospitality Group doing business as entity Fondren Landing LLC, is planning to develop Fondren Landing, a $40 million mixed-use project that will include apartment units, retail space and condominiums. The site is located three miles north of downtown Jackson. A timeline for construction was not disclosed, although local news outlet WJTV reports the property is slated to open in summer 2022. Micah McCullough of NAI UCR Properties represented the seller, a private family based in South Carolina, in the land transaction.
Like most markets, regardless of sector, Jackson experienced a moment in time when deals were shelved due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the industrial market in Jackson tells a different story in the early innings of COVID-19. While most deals were put on hold for several weeks in early April to mid-May, we saw activity pick up with users signing leases, contracting on vacant buildings and resuming due diligence timelines for land purchases, all without any repricing or discount. These trends, while hopefully permanent in nature, are all due to a lack of industrial supply and consistent demand in the Jackson market. If you have quality product in a good area, it will sell or lease, even during a pandemic. The Jackson industrial market spans around 40 million square feet if you include all specialty and manufacturing properties, as well as true warehouse and flex product. According to CoStar Group, the market’s vacancy rate is hovering around 7 percent, but it feels tighter since there’s a bulk of obsolescent product — either low ceiling heights or being in less desirable areas. Jackson is considered a minor industrial market and is well-suited for future growth. As Mississippi’s capital city, Jackson is …
STARKVILLE, MISS. — SRS Real Estate Partners has negotiated the sale of a 60,835-square-foot retail property in Starkville. Vowell’s Marketplace, a regional grocery store, fully occupies the building with two years remaining on its corporate-guaranteed lease. The property was built in 1992 and is located at 118 Mississippi Highway 112, less than one mile from downtown Starkville and less than two miles west of Mississippi State University. Britt Raymond, Kyle Fant, Matthew Mousavi, Patrick Luther and Martin Smith of SRS represented the seller, a New York-based private investor. The buyer was a private investor from Starkville.
MEMPHIS, TENN. — Gelt Inc. has acquired eight self-storage properties comprising 3,867 units in metro Memphis for $41 million. The portfolio, which totals 490,187 square feet, was 91 percent leased at the time of sale. There are five facilities in Memphis; two in Olive Branch, Miss.; and one in Nesbit, Miss. The single-story properties were built between 1972 and 2006 and feature a mix of drive-up, indoor and climate-controlled units. Portfolio-wide, the unit sizes range from 5 square feet to 430 square feet and average 141 square feet. Citizen Storage will manage all eight properties. Luke Elliott and Michael Mele of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Merit Hill Capital, in the transaction.
GREENVILLE, LULA AND VICKSBURG, MISS. — Eldorado Resorts Inc. has reopened Tropicana Greenville, Isle of Capri Lula and Lady Luck Vicksburg in Mississippi. Eldorado will limit the number of guests to no more than 50 percent of the property’s maximum occupancy, in accordance with Mississippi Gaming Commission regulations. The Reno, Nev.-based company temporarily closed the three casinos March 16 in accordance with the Commission’s orders to close casinos due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The properties reopened at 10 a.m. local time.
BILOXI, MISS. — Dougherty Mortgage LLC has provided a $17 million Fannie Mae acquisition loan for The Sound at St. Martin, a 181-unit multifamily community in Biloxi. The property comprises 15 three-story buildings and a single-story clubhouse that were built in 2005 and renovated between 2017 and 2019. Communal amenities include a pool, 24-hour fitness center, grilling areas and a business center. The Sound at St. Martin offers one- and two-bedroom floor plans and is situated at 14801 Lemoyne Drive, six miles north of downtown Biloxi. Dougherty Mortgage originated the loan on behalf of the buyer, an entity doing business as MMP2-Lanier LLC. The 12-year loan features a 30-year amortization schedule. The seller was not disclosed.