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Since Georgia-based Hull Property Group purchased the former Leigh Mall in 2019 and rebranded it as Columbus Place, residents have wondered what the future holds for the long-struggling property.
While the property has yet to land new tenants, John Mulherin, vice president of government relations for Hull Property Group, says it’s only a matter of time.
“The mall property did not devolve down and fail overnight,” Mulherin told The Dispatch on Thursday. “It happened over a period of time. It’s going to take a period of time for it to come back. What we’ve done … (and) the work we’re continuing to do, we continue to invest into the properties to create the best offering (and) the best opportunity for somebody.”
So what work has been done so far? What’s next? What challenges lie ahead?
What work has been done so far?
After rebranding the property, Hull Property Group began converting the mall into what Mulherin described as an “outward facing power center.” In 2023, the interior of the mall, including the old JCPenney, the Zales Jewelry Store and Books-A-Million, was demolished.
The inside-out flip on the retail side cost Hull Group about $24 million, for which Columbus and Lowndes County have agreed to contribute $3 million in tax rebates over 15 years.
In 2023, the company added 13 outward-facing retail spaces, bringing the total number of spaces at Columbus Place to 37. Remaining tenants include Five Below, Hobby Lobby, Dollar Tree, Planet Fitness, City Gear, Hibbett Sports and outparcels Trustmark and Hardee’s.
The company has also purchased five adjacent properties to allow for future outparcels. That work included demolishing the former Sears Auto Center, a gas station near Old Aberdeen Road and the former Waffle House and Western Sizzlin’ near the LaQuinta Inn.
Mulherin said the outparcels will be left as “blank slates,” with buildings constructed to meet individual tenant needs.
Mulherin previously told The Dispatch the rear side of the building, facing Highway 182, could be renovated for commercial, medical or municipal office space, as well as “entertainment space.” He said there are no concrete plans in place for those changes.
“It can be developed as anything,” he told The Dispatch on Thursday. “We’ve had a lot of success with medical, entertainment use (and) municipal use (in other communities). I don’t know if there’s any of those needs in this community.”
What’s next at Columbus Place?
Current development includes work along Old Aberdeen Road, which was deeded to Hull Property Group in 2024. Mulherin said pulling the road back and combining it with nearby parcels creates space for up to four outparcels along the main corridor.
Dirt work for that project is ongoing at the property and should be wrapped up in about a month, Mulherin said.
Although asphalt overlay and restriping in the parking lot was completed last year, Mulherin said additional site changes are planned once the outparcels become occupied. Those include reconfiguring traffic islands, additional asphalt work and eventually adding a new entrance to the shopping center.
“You never really finish,” he said. “… You’re always continuing to work on something, and we’ve got a lot of work still to do there to continue to make it an attractive place for folks to land.”
Mulherin said discussions with the Mississippi Department of Transportation about a new entrance have not begun and declined to provide additional details.
Although no deals have been finalized, Mulherin said at least one tenant could open on an outparcel in the near future. Mulherin described the prospective tenant as one “the community would like,” but said a non-disclosure agreement limits what he can share.
“We’ve got something cooking,” he said. “If we can pull it off. We’re not fully inked, but we’re working on something very important.”
What’s the challenge with landing tenants?
Aside from that potential deal, Mulherin said retailer interest has been limited.
“Certainly we’re advertising,” Mulherin said. “We’re talking to people. We’re trying to see who’s interested, this and the other. But at the end of the day, it’s all market driven and (about) who wants to be in Columbus. At this point, we’ve not had any success with that.”
Mulherin said the challenge is not the property itself, but attracting tenants interested in the Columbus market.
“We can control the things that we can control,” he said. “… And what we can’t control is what tenant is interested in the market. That’s not just Columbus. That’s everywhere, but … when the door knocks, we’re pretty good at opening the door, and we do think we have a superior property that would be very attractive to new tenants.
“There is nothing wrong with Columbus, Mississippi,” he added. “It’s a great market. You’ve got great retail around. You serve as a regional draw, and we’ve got really good real estate.”
Mulherin said if the company was simply trying to “chase money,” the shopping center could already be full.
“We could have filled that property up already with non-national tenants that you or I wouldn’t want or (that) wouldn’t necessarily be successful,” Mulherin said. “We’re very disciplined in who we’re going to let back in there. … When you land the first good tenant, you’re going to then be more attractive and get the next good tenant, versus if you put … a flea market kind of operation in there … you have a devolving cycle.”
Regardless of how long it takes to begin landing successful tenants at the shopping center, Mulherin said the company has no plans in sight for when they’ll have to get out from under the property.
“We’re privately held, so we have a long runway in front of us,” Mulherin said. “We really love the Columbus market. … We’ll get people in there, but we’re in for a long haul. We are part of the Columbus community.
“If you look at our record, ‘cut our losses’ is not in our vocabulary,” he added. “We’ve made a tremendous investment in the community, so now we’re in it for the long haul. That never crosses our minds, as to the concept of cutting our losses, because it always works out.”
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
