Region on the Rise - Site Selection Magazine

In the signing of both Senate Bill 3056 and Senate Bill 2696 in May 2024, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves made a significant step toward breathing new life into the state’s communities.

Capital city Jackson holds the state’s largest population concentration at more than 160,000 residents, leaving plenty of room for growth outside the region. The introduction of these two bills mirrors the targeted approach to economic development state and local leadership have been focused on for years. The consequences of such actions has led to an influx of millions toward ensuring residents and businesses have the resources in place to thrive.

The Mississippi Main Street Revitalization Grant (MMSRG) program was established through Senate Bill 2696, signifying a promise to dedicate state funding to downtown revitalization projects to Designated Mississippi Main Street Communities moving forward. Meanwhile Senate Bill 3056 provides nearly $7 million to MMSRG for 19 new projects, in addition to $500,000 statewide support and operations funding to non-profit organization Mississippi Main Street Association.

The concept of the Main Street Program is not new to the state, which attempted to receive grant funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to implement it in 1980.

At the time Mississippi was eager, but was not rewarded, nor did the state legislature have the funding in place to contract these services on their own. Through many trials and tribulations as a result of the community-based revitalization efforts, by the late 1990s the non-profit organization now known as the Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) was born.

Since then, MMSA has built a roster of 48 designated communities throughout the state with the aid of public and private investors and state partners, yielding the creation of 6,000 new businesses, 40,000 new jobs and the revitalization of more than 4,000 buildings.

A Revitalized Region

The city of Laurel, located in Jones County, has been a Designated Mississippi Main Street Community for 16 years. MMSA utilized its “Four Points” approach of economic vitality, design, promotion and organization to transform Laurel Main Street.

The framework of the town of nearly 20,000, built on the back of a thriving lumber industry, underwent a transformation that held true to the integrity of its history while spurring a new generation of economic activity.

In this time, the city has welcomed an array of fresh, homegrown businesses and restaurants to its downtown district. Spots such as Be Amazing Paper Company, Pearl’s Diner, The Loft, The Rusty Chandelier and Guild & Gentry are among the local businesses that received recognition in 2023 for the Best of Mississippi Awards. Bridging the town’s industrial history through preservation of buildings and homes, mixed with lively art murals and community-focused events, it’s no wonder the city has been named one of the Top 50 Small Towns in the South.

Now with state funding in hand, Laurel’s neighboring city of Hattiesburg is set to begin its downtown revitalization efforts. As one of the 19 new Designated Mississippi Main Street Communities, Hattiesburg has received the full MMSRG grant amount of $500,000 toward its initiative.

Much like Laurel, the city earned its spot as a vibrant southern community by being named a Top 25 Southern City on the Rise by Southern Living Magazine in April 2024. Currently, Hattiesburg pulls in $300 million each year from tourism, resulting in an abundance of healthy growth as of late. When applying to join the program the city proposed to revamp a vacant building located at 300 Hardy Street, positioned at the entrance of its downtown. The project aims to establish a 8,000-sq.-ft. Welcome Center that will house both VisitHATTIESBURG and the Downtown Hattiesburg Association.

Once complete, the Hattiesburg Welcome Center will lead directly into the city’s downtown district.
Photo courtesy of the Downtown Hattiesburg Main Street Association

“Over the past three years, Downtown Hattiesburg has seen significant growth with 22 buildings sold, 27 renovations and 18 new businesses opening,” says Downtown Hattiesburg Main Street Association Director Andrea Saffle. “The center aims to not only sustain but accelerate this positive trajectory, adding value to the ongoing urban renewal efforts and economic development strategies.”

The site’s key location allows for seamless community gatherings and an ideal way for visitors to start their journey. After an anticipated two years of renovation work the Welcome Center will house a new on-site museum and gift shop, in addition to public outdoor space, indoor meeting spaces and still more to come.

“The Hattiesburg Welcome Center is poised to become a significant economic driver, contributing to the vitality of the local economy in several ways,” says Saffle. “First and foremost, by serving as the headquarters for the Hattiesburg Tourism Commission and Downtown Hattiesburg’s Main Street program, the center establishes itself as the strategic nucleus for tourism and downtown development initiatives.”

Unlike ever before, these centralized agencies are afforded the ability to collaborate on new projects and marketing efforts that continue to build upon the city’s quality of life offerings.

The region’s local leadership, encompassing both Laurel and Hattiesburg, is intent on keeping this economic development activity in motion, in part by providing refreshed space for entrepreneurs and businesses to find new success, and the quality of life to keep residents at home while leaving visitors with an unforgettable Mississippi experience.

More to Come

Enhanced quality of life serves as a critical component of a company’s site selection decision, and corporate leadership has taken note of the Magnolia State. In the past year, this region of the state has brought in a number of new project and expansion announcements involving hundreds of direct jobs.

Just 15 minutes outside of Hattiesburg, Cold-Link Logistics and partner Whitestone Transportation’s nearly 200,000-sq.-ft. cold storage warehouse and transportation hub is set to open in June 2024, according to the latest update from Cold-Link. The $64 million investment aims to fill a missing need for Mississippi food producers. With a goal to service this industry for the long-term, Cold-Link secured its 65-acre site at the I-59 Supply Chain Park in Moselle. Once operations begin the site will create 84 new jobs.

In the months to follow, plywood manufacturer Hood Industries’ plans to welcome its newest facility in Beaumont. The company has called the region home for close to 45 years, though it lost its original facility due to natural disaster in 2022. After the tough blow, Hood Industries didn’t leave Mississippi, instead coming forward with a $200 million investment to rebuild.

“We are a part of this community,” said Hood Industries President Jay Galloway. “And they are a part of us.”

Hood Industries will open doors to the new facility in 2025, bringing on 265 jobs. The catastrophe allowed the company to introduce a modernized manufacturing plant, allowing for double the previous production capacity it once had.

Paired with the additional 300 jobs created by the arrival of Jones Capital’s national HQ in Hattiesburg and the Lucky Rabbit’s 24,000-sq.-ft. retail space expansion at the historic Hattiesburg Grocery building, this region is prepared to show the nation what small town strength means when it comes to cultivating new opportunities.

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Asked about the Birmingham of a generation ago, Martin Guest, managing director of CBRE’s Birmingham office, describes a gray city of drab concrete architecture, surrounded by a ring road that effectively created a barrier around the city center. Huge flocks of starlings filled the sky, and all in all, it wasn’t the most inspiring of locations.

Today the ring is mostly demolished, making the city far more open to investments such as the headquarters HSBC UK chose to set up in Birmingham, now welcoming up to 2,500 staff to a new complex in the city center. They’re part of a financial and professional services cluster in the region that got started a decade ago when Deutsche Bank moved a handful of people into Brindleyplace, where the German bank now has 1,500 people in the city center.

HSBC cited Birmingham’s central location as a driving factor for the location decision, as well as the site’s central location just a 10-minute walk from Birmingham New Street Station, where an easy rail journey of under 90 minutes to London will soon be more than halved by the arrival of the UK’s High Speed 2 (HS2) rail service.

"Thirty years ago, that station was one of those places you’d arrive at and want to stay on the train," says Guest. About three years ago, a mixed-use refurbishment opened, and now the opposite dynamic is in play: "Now, if they arrive by car, we will absolutely take them to see Grand Central," Guest says. "It’s one of the busiest stations outside of central London, and a big connector."

"Birmingham is booming," J. Tate Godfrey, executive director of the Industrial Asset Management Council, wrote me recently as he waited at that very train station for a return trip to London after a meeting. "An incredible number of cranes in sight in the downtown area is a highly visible indicator of Birmingham’s recent economic development success."

The city also is on the short list as the new home for UK public broadcasting service Channel 4, and will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The connections only figure to multiply as HS2 ramps up toward its 2026 launch. In addition to creating tens of thousands of jobs as a project, HS2’s executive HQ is headquartered in Birmingham, driving a further uptick in jobs and in real estate demand in an already surging market.

Good Numbers

Among the 12 sectors examined for Site Selection publisher Conway Inc.’s 2017 World’s Most Competitive Cities report, Birmingham was in the top five in Europe in half. Those findings jibe well with the sectors the region’s lead inward investment agency, Business Birmingham, continues to target: advanced manufacturing; life sciences; business, professional & financial services; tech & digital; and food & drink.

Figures released in June 2018 by the UK Department for International Trade showed the West Midlands to be the only area in the country seeing growth in both foreign direct investment (FDI) projects and in the jobs those projects create. A total of 171 new FDI projects (a 13-percent increase) were recorded during 2017/18, with the number of associated jobs reaching 9,424 — a 43-percent increase, and the highest number of new jobs created in any area outside London.

"Foreign companies are investing here as they to look to capitalize on the flourishing network of innovation hubs, R&D facilities and enterprise zones that underpin the West Midlands’ success," said Neil Rami, chief executive of the West Midlands Growth Company, which operates Business Birmingham. Those areas in turn are underpinned by what he called a "world-class talent pool."

You might say those flocks of starlings have been dispersed by flocks of stars. And whether they’re companies or citizens, lower costs allow those stars to shine.

Guest points out that the all-in office occupancy costs come in at around 50 percent of London’s. Zoopla online’s May 2018 annual survey of hours & earnings found the average house price in Birmingham of just over £200,000 placed it well down the list at 10th most expensive metro market in the UK. Sub-regions like the Jewellery Quarter and Digbeth are proving to be ideal places for young professionals to live.

The youngest city in Europe, Birmingham’s population is projected to rise by 171,000 to 1.3 million over the next two decades.

"I’m often asked whether I miss London," says Dave Shaw, an assessment and capability manager at HSBC. "I can honestly say that my answer has never changed — I love it here in Birmingham. It’s awesome. It has almost everything that London has but everywhere is within such close walking distance — I walk everywhere, including on my so-called ‘commute,’ which is now just a stunning 20-minute walk along canals."

"More people are moving here from London and the southeast than any other UK city," says Waheed Nazir, corporate director, economy for the Birmingham City Council, "and significantly, around half of our graduates are choosing to stay on in the city."

Leasing activity surpassed 1 million sq. ft. in 2017. In addition to attracting the most UK internal migrants, the metro area is also leading the way in startups: Between 2015 and 2016, their number ballooned to 17,473 (second only to London among the UK’s 16 major metro markets), a growth rate of 23.5 percent (second to none).

"However, what’s genuinely exciting," says Nazir, "is that Birmingham is not even at the mid-point of its growth curve."

This Investment Profile was prepared under the auspices of the West Midlands Growth Company, whose mission is to help create new jobs, build and expand businesses, attract regional investment and encourage tourism. For more information, visit wmgrowth.com or call the head office in Birmingham at +44 (0)121 202 5115.

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