If you’re driving from Columbus to Starkville and look over to the left, chances are good that you’re going to see something under construction on South Frontage Road.
Soon after you pass the Macon/Meridian exit, you’ll see a new building under construction. That’s natural gas company Atmos Energy’s new Golden Triangle location, which will combine the West Point, Starkville and Columbus offices to one central building. Michelle Whittle, operations manager for the new Golden Triangle location, said all three offices combined will help service everyone locally. She said the company’s move will not affect any of its current services.
The new location, 1521 S. Frontage Road, will open in mid-September if construction continues as planned. Whittle said employees from all three current offices will relocate to the new building.
Kingdom Vision International Church continues its construction for the church’s new location at 2467 S. Frontage Road. Head Pastor R.J. Matthews said the construction is a debt-free project, meaning progress will continue as the necessary funds are raised by the church.
Matthews said he hopes the project will be completed by August 2019. The construction of the new multi-purpose center and gymnasium began in 2014.The land was purchased in 2011 and upon completion, will triple the space of the church’s current location at 3193 Highway 69 S.
A little farther down, near the Mississippi Regional Housing Authority and Granite Guys, you’ll see brand new signs for Exceed Technologies and Mississippi Alarm. The signs went up a couple of weeks ago, but the building behind the signs is still under construction. Both businesses are currently located at 2605 Cleda Dr. but will be moving to their new location at 2787 S. Frontage Road by mid-October.
Exceed Technologies’ Columbus office manager Mitzi Edwards said construction is on schedule, and the new building will offer more space for the expanding IT company. The building will house both Exceed Technologies and Mississippi Alarm, a home security system business.
Both offices will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m.-noon. Though a date has not been set, Exceed Technologies President Jeremy Bandre will host a grand opening after construction is complete.
Also on South Frontage Road, closer to the GTR Airport exit, Stribling Equipment is building a new facility meant to better serve the Golden Triangle.
For the last 30 years, Stribling’s local facility, which sells heavy equipment, has been located on Wilkins-Wise Road. Hayden Higginbotham, service manager for the Columbus facility, said the more centralized location off of Highway 82 will also help the company “upscale” its space.
“The building we’re in right now was originally built (to accommodate) boats,” he said. “Some of the equipment we handle is up to 47 metric tons. Quite frankly, we needed a place to facilitate that.”
Higginbotham said he hopes Stribling can relocate to South Frontage Road by January.
Stribling is based in Jackson and has stores throughout Mississippi, as well as in Arkansas and Tennessee.
Sunbelt Rentals, 645 Highway 45 S., opened its Columbus location in late June. It offers rental construction equipment for large contractors and even “weekend warriors” for home projects. Sunbelt offers equipment ranging from impact wrenches, air compressors and even vehicles. Sunbelt is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. but also has a 24/7 on-call service.
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