STARKVILLE – Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday to move forward with a public/private partnership involving Mississippi State University.
For now, the city is keeping the details under wraps until the deal solidifies.
The board vote came after an almost hourlong executive session during its regular meeting at City Hall. The meeting’s agenda noted the purpose of the executive session as “transaction of business and discussions or negotiations regarding the location, relocation or expansion of a business or an industry.”
None of the parties meeting with aldermen in executive session would comment to The Dispatch as they were leaving.
Mayor Lynn Spruill declined to say what exactly that project is. She said more public details would come later, but she did not give a timeline.
“It’s not that we don’t want people to know,” she told The Dispatch after the meeting. “I’d like to shout it from the rooftops. But we’d like to make sure it doesn’t create any situation where it doesn’t come to pass.”
New housing sparks objections from neighbors
Aldermen considered a request from Jason Ishee, a developer looking to build eight condos on a property east of 521 S. Montgomery St. The vacant property sits next to the building that houses State Urgent Care, Specialty Orthopedic Group and a nurse practitioner’s office. It once housed an apartment complex that has since been torn down.
Ishee, who did not attend the meeting, is seeking a variance to build a series of condos within 20 feet of the properties just north of the lot on Hancock Circle, including five residences, and five feet from properties to the south. Typically the limit for commercial buildings is 50 feet in the rear and 10 in the front, but the proposed layout places the condos closer to fit a larger parking lot in front.
The city’s Board of Adjustments and Appeals unanimously approved the variance, Spruill said.
But the proposal drew opposition from its would-be neighbors, with two of the abutters to the north coming to voice their disagreement.
They mostly objected to having the potential development so close, especially given some issues with rowdy neighbors in the past.
“I am very much against this,” said Sandra Edmons, a resident of 414 Hancock Circle. “The building that was already there … we had problems with that, having to call the police and different stuff like that. It’s very close to our home. Condos back there? That’s a lot.”
The proposal would also include a small second building for mixed use development, with apartments on the second story and a space on the ground floor for retail use or offices. The fence between the former apartment complex and the existing residences will also be improved as part of the proposal, though it didn’t say exactly how.
The board declined to take any action on the measure Tuesday, in large part because the developer did not attend the meeting. Spruill was supportive of the Ishee’s right to develop his property, but she said the proposal wouldn’t even make it onto another agenda until the owner agrees to come make his case in person.
“Asking for a variance and then not showing up is unacceptable to me,” she said. “… A developer gets to develop a piece of property. You don’t leave it blank and vacant just because somebody doesn’t want it in their backyard. We need to be able to use property in town, densification is important. But you have to weigh how much intrusion we’re talking about.”
Ward 2 Alderwoman Sandra Sistrunk admitted she “wouldn’t want people looking into her backyard” but echoed the sentiments of Spruill and several other aldermen that the plan might be workable without a variance by rearranging the condos and parking.
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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 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
