A Visit to the King Edward Hotel in Jackson, Mississippi

Update: The King Edward Hotel project is taking off under the direction of David Watkins and HRI Properties. Demolition and cleanout has begun. For those who are interested, please feel free to check out my recent photos of Hotel King Edward from a recent Press Walkthrough and a Demolition Walkthrough. I hope to be allowed access to photograph the building in more detail once it is cleaned out, but before renovation begins.

Unfortunately, it does not appear that Condo Units will be part of this development, due to the way in which funding for the project will be structured. Mr. Watkins had the following statement regarding progress of the project in a recent posting on the Jackson Free Press website:

The project WILL be done.

Work actually is scheduled to begin today, Monday, December 11th.

After the bid was awarded, we had to get the city to prepare the contract with the successful bidder, give the required statutory notice to DEQ and A&H, and wait the obligatory 10 days after the contract was awarded to allow DEQ to inspect the site. Then, we had to wait on the bonding company to say grace of the city's contract.

After all that was completed, we were scheduled to start work on December 4th but the legal department couldn't track down the Mayor to sign the city contract until last week.

The city is planning on having some kind of press opportunity on Wednesday of this week, to let folks know that the work is being done. We're not in charge of that one, since it's the city announcing that they are spending federal grant money (the $800k EDI money that Thad was successful in securing back in 2004!).

With all these delays, we are, of course, several months behind schedule now and continue to be somewhat frustrated with the pace of progress. The environmental remediaton work will take 3-6 months, and the other pre-development work required (architectural and engineering drawings, selection of a contractor, financial closing) will likely take 3-4 months as well.

At the present time, we're still planning on using the name King Edward something or other. Probably something like "King Edward Hilton," or "Hilton King Edward" (just substitute any other hotel chain name there). I know it's not very original, but I think it's important to keep "King Edward" in there somewhere.

I apologize for not keeping folks a little more informed about what's been going on. It is partially due to the fact that there has not been a lot of real progress with the actual construction work on the King Edward for the last few months; and partially due to personal reasons that have keep me away from the office for most of the last month. We will do better in January.

We are still planning on a mixed-use project with luxury hotel, commercial office space (old parking garage), retail space on the first two floors and basement, and apartments on the top 5 or 6 floors. Condos are problematic at this time because they are not allowed with GO Zone financing. However, I haven't given up on that option for a small number of units, if there is a definitive market and if we can carve them out of the financing on the rest of the project.

If you have any additional comments, questions or suggestions, feel free to send me an email at david@watkinspartners.com

David Watkins a/k/a "Pops"
12-11-06

Now, back to your regularly scheduled blog post.

For those of you who don't know, I live in Jackson, Mississippi. It's a nice town in the middle of a state with a lot of potential. I love my state, even though there are many things it needs to overcome. I had hoped to be part of that one day, to let everyone know how wonderful a place this is, but after the building languished in a neglected condition for years, someone beat me to the project. I'll keep a running overview of the updates at the top of this page.

It was designed during the heyday of Jackson, when skyscrapers began to pop up and industry moved into town. It's right next to the trains that connect us with Chicago and New Orleans. It also shares a block with the 24-story Standard Life building that houses offices and the police department as their main offices are renovated.

Now, however, the only occupants are birds. It was formerly invaded by street people, but a new fence was erected around it last year after a fire. MCI Worldcom was looking at buying it in order to set up a telecommunications training center, but have since abandoned the idea.

The building was the focus of the west side of downtown. The surrounding blocks were filled with restaurants, shops, it was the life of downtown. One of the more interesting features was a café on the corner of the building that had windows looking out onto the busy street. Today, the windows are gone.

Other hotel features were also available. There was a finely appointed bar, an upstairs lounge for the influential men about town, and even a barber shop.

Because the building took up the entire block, a parking garage was tucked away inside the middle of the structure. You get in by driving in an entrance next to the café.

The building is finely appointed, and there is such tremendous detail in everything. Under each window of the third floor, there is a different shield.

The entrance is grand. Inside is a three-story stained glass dome roof, and a large front desk. Now that the fence is up, I can't go inside, but we can still see the exterior. Even with its current condition, the beauty of this building is still apparent.

The surrounding neighborhood is falling apart. Without an anchor to hold the area together, business have left. The mayor dug up Farish Street to the left in order to do some construction, then pulled the funding. Now, one of the most lively areas downtown is almost dead. But the potential still remains.

I walked a few blocks up to the Mayflower diner. It's a pretty popular place on Friday nights with the date crowd, so I put my name on the list and waited for a seat at the counter. As I had my dinner, I couldn't help but think about how much revitalizing this one building could improve the entire area. With just a bit of financing, and a good bit of remodeling, the building could once again serve as a beautiful hotel, a residence for downtown workers, a meeting place for the community, and a hub of downtown life.

I look forward to the day that King Edward Condo Units go up for sale, right above the hotel.