The old Leigh Mall property has gone from eyesore to intrigue.
The Hull Group, which bought the distressed property out of bankruptcy court in October 2019, reports that the extensive work to turn the 30-acre, 300,000 square foot, mall “inside out” is nearing completion.
Re-paving the property could begin as soon as next week, a company official said. At that point the old mall property – renamed Columbus Place – will be for all intents and purposes a new retail center with 37 storefronts, all but a few of them outward facing.
The company is working on drafting lease agreements with several companies in home goods, fashion and several other retail industries, though nothing has been finalized. The new spaces could be available for occupancy as early as January.
A Hull Group spokesman said the company expects its investment to ultimately reach $24 million, more than twice the assessed value of the property when it first went up for sale in 2018. Hull purchased the property for $3.5 million.
A key factor in getting the project to this nearly-completed state was a $3.15 million incentive package approved by the Columbus City Council and the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors in May 2022.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hull Group will pay taxes on the mall at its current assessed value. The ad valorem value of any additions made will be repaid to the company, along with 75 percent of the net sales tax collected on non-grocery sales. In the event of a grocery store locating in the space, 50 percent of the sales tax generated by grocery sales will go back to the company. The incentives will not include school tax collections.
The arrangement will last until the Hull Group either recovers the approximately $3.125 million cost of engineering work to reconfigure the mall and for the demolition of the Sears Automotive building on the southwest corner of the property or for 15 years.
No doubt, the incentive package helped kickstart the project and will encourage the recruitment of high quality tenants.
When Leigh Mall opened in 1972, it was the showpiece of Columbus and the biggest thing to happen in retail in North Mississippi until that point.
But the days of the conventional mall were numbered. By 2018, the mall was almost half-empty and signs of neglect and deterioration were everywhere. Yet even at its lowest point, Leigh Mall occupied the most valuable retail space in the city.
That’s still true for Columbus Place. We enter the new year with renewed optimism.
Yet in some ways, the most important part of the project remains to be realized. Hull Group has built it. Will high-quality tenants follow? An affirmative answer to that question is crucial. The stores that ultimately occupy these spaces will tell us much about the potential of retail business in the city.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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