Starkville officials, planners and business developers are set to pitch ideas about how to draw new businesses to the Highway 182 business corridor in a public meeting scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday.
Highway 182 is Starkville’s oldest business corridor, and Mayor Parker Wiseman said a push for a business redevelopment plan could give the area a new facelift following MDOT’s recent overlay project.
It also has been identified by comprehensive planners as a key business corridor since Main Street’s properties consistently have near-100 percent occupancy.
The meeting, which will be held in City Hall’s second floor conference room, is expected to also feature Mississippi Department of Transportation and Mississippi Development Association representatives.
Wiseman and Community Development Director Buddy Sanders said Wednesday’s meeting could also lead to a marketing plan for the area, which could be facilitated by the Alabama- and Tennessee-based planning firm Farmer-Morgan LLC.
Officials did not have a cost projection for those services, but Wiseman said they could be paid out of monies remaining from a recent brownfield grant.
“We believe there are significant redevelopment opportunities for the entire corridor,” Wiseman said. “Highway 182 is considered part of downtown Starkville, but it’s also a highway corridor. That makes the configuration of 182 different than the rest of Starkville, and it makes traffic counts higher, which is an asset for potential development. The purpose of this exercise is to seek professional advice on the things we should be doing as a city to make sure we’re capturing all of the redevelopment opportunities the market may bring.”
The city could utilize special zoning designations for the area, Sanders said, which would ease restrictions for small business owners.
“For example, you could give more flexibility to someone in terms of how they have to alter structures to bring them up to standards,” he said. “Small startups typically don’t have a lot of cash. Say someone graduates from State, loves Starkville and doesn’t want to leave, and his or her dream is to open up a pizza place. Rent in Starkville can be expensive in a lot of places, but 182 is reasonable, and there is a lot of opportunities. Say they want to open it up in an empty service station, but they can’t afford to tear it down and move it closer to the street. That’s where you can find flexibility.”
Future public input sessions are expected to follow before the city broaches any special designations.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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