By next Christmas, Columbus could have a shiny new package to unveil — an upscale hotel in the heart of downtown. It’s an idea people have bandied about for years: Demolish the Gilmer Inn — along with its sometimes colorful reputation — and clear the slate for a boutique chain hotel with historic charm and modern amenities.
Talk has been replaced by action, Columbus-Lowndes Development Link Chief Executive Officer Joe Higgins reported Wednesday afternoon during the group’s quarterly luncheon at Columbus Middle School.
Tuesday, the Link signed paperwork obtaining a property option from Sanjay and Nhana Modi of Chicago, Ill., who have owned the Gilmer Inn, located at 321 Main Street, since March 2007. They also obtained an option to develop an adjacent property, which was once the site of a sporting goods store.
Higgins declined to give details about the arrangements made with the Modi family, stating only that the options had been assigned to Columbus developer Mark Castleberry, owner of Castle Properties Inc.
Property options are common between landowners and governmental or economic development entities, making way for economic development projects by securing an agreement from the owners of desired properties to sell at a fixed price within a specified amount of time.
Replacing the 75-room, low-budget motel with a swankier facility is something Higgins has wanted to do “from the get-go,” and now is a good time for it, he said, citing the recent addition of the downtown soccer complex, new Columbus Convention and Visitor’s Bureau building and Tennessee Williams Welcome Center renovations.
Being ranked on lists like the National Trust Main Street Center’s 2010 top five Main Street communities — where Columbus was recognized as being “a shining star among Mississippi Main Streets” — and one of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations in 2008, inspired Higgins’ belief that the downtown area “can do better.”
According to Higgins, as more people flock to the area to “eat steaks, drink whiskey and spend money,” they will want somewhere nice to stay, preferably a hotel that allows them to remain downtown near shops, restaurants and places like the Trotter Convention Center.
Next on the agenda will be working with the city to develop an incentive package for potential chains. Higgins anticipates the project being a $9 million to $12 million investment for a four to five-story hotel.
The project represents the Link’s ability to be “multi-faceted,” focusing not only on bringing new industries to the area but also on making sure the newcomers have “a better front door” when they arrive, Higgins said.
The news drew enthusiastic praise from Nancy Carpenter, executive director of the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau. In the past, the CVB has attempted to buy and demolish the Gilmer Inn for the same purpose.
“It’s going to be one of the best things to ever happen to Columbus,” Carpenter said. “It’s going to be a perfect fit. … It’s some of the best news I’ve heard in a long time. It will definitely make an impact.”
You win some, you lose some
Still riding high from the August announcement of California-based solar silicon manufacturer Calisolar’s decision to move to Lowndes County, Higgins told Link members he’s beginning to hear other manufacturers expressing interest in the area and is currently working on several projects which look promising.
He praised the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors, Columbus Mayor Robert Smith, Columbus City Council and others for their work, crediting them for his “batting average.”
He estimated that the Link is currently landing one out of every three projects but admitted that it’s a pricey game, and one he sometimes loses. Nearly $1.2 million in projects have gone elsewhere, including Hawker Beechcraft, a Wichita, Kan.-based manufacturer which cost between $150,000 to $170,000 to woo but ultimately was a Lowndes County strike out.
“We can’t get all of them,” Higgins said.
Meanwhile, Aurora Flight Sciences, which opened its unmanned aircraft manufacturing facilities in Columbus in 2007, is undergoing a $15 million expansion that’s expected to add 250 new jobs to the local workforce.
“We’ve got a tremendous product to sell,” Higgins said, citing the area’s resources.
‘A hot commodity’
According to Policom, a Palm City, Fla.-based economics research firm, Columbus currently ranks No. 57 out of 576 micropolitans (urbanized areas with a population of more than 10,000 people but fewer than 50,000) — up from its 2004 ranking of No. 374. The rankings are based upon growth rates, consistency trends, industry averages and other factors.
Indeed, the entire state is poised to see a brighter economic future, said guest speaker Rep. Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo.
Though companies still prefer to keep their research facilities elsewhere, they’re starting to cast more than just an appreciative glance in Mississippi’s direction for manufacturing, thanks to a dedicated workforce and industry-friendly political environment.
“I’m positive about America,” Nunnelee said. “Right now, one of the hottest commodities in Silicon Valley is Mississippi.”
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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