Grand Hotel: Does the King Edward Have a Glorious Future? | Jackson Free Press | Jackson, MS

Grand Hotel: Does the King Edward Have a Glorious Future?

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton attempted to put some gas behind the renovation of the King Edward Hotel July 22 when, through the media, he gave his staff about a month to finalize plans to renovate the hotel. Or, he threatened, he would push to have it demolished. "When someone gets off the train at the refurbished Union Station, the first thing they see is the dilapidated King Edward Hotel. It's been an eyesore for years, and something needs to be done with it," Melton told The Clarion-Ledger.

That announcement left many people questioning just where the plan stands now and whether or not the glorious old hotel will ever see life again.

A Glorious Past
Opinions vary on the supposed "heyday" of the hotel. Some say the hotel hit its peak immediately after the 1950s, when it was renovated and modernized with escalators, air-conditioning, colorful mod furniture and other luxuries. Others say the hotel was swimming in good times right after the 1920s, when members of the Mississippi Legislature boarded there during the legislative sessions.

Former state Sen. Henry Kirksey says that many bills that survived the political process in the years prior to the Civil Rights Era were actually hammered out within the walls of the King Edward, not at the Capitol.

Whenever its prime, the hotel closed its doors in 1967. Hotel General Manager E. Bill Green said at the time that the hotel was seeing stiff competition from younger, more modern hotels that didn't bother with stodgy conventions like valet parking. Kirksey, though, said the hotel fell victim to racial integration, with its patrons not wanting to patronize an integrated hotel.

Since closing, the once-grand hotel has been the site of considerable decay. For the last few decades, the city has worked in fits and starts with past owners to either sell or renovate the place, all the while being forced to watch the building erupt into a lurking hulk of pigeon-haunted decay. Both biological and asbestos contaminants plague the structure, but it is also frustratingly cursed with a very solid foundation, making demolition costly. Razing the place will, by no means, be cheap.

Edward's Saviors?
After numerous failed attempts at setting the hotel up as a new home for the TelCom Center and other fizzled projects, the city had given up on renovation through the efforts of the building's multiple owners and moved to aggressively snatch the property.

"We had possession of it at one time when it was going through imminent domain hearings, but not ownership," said Willie Mott, executive director of the Jackson Redevelopment Authority. The city tried to take over ownership throughout the 1990s, but to no avail. Then in 2004, the city, under then-Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr., succeeded in acquiring the building through a cooperative effort with the hotel's owners. Since then, the Jackson Redevelopment Authority has been trying to bring back to life the morbid-looking prize.

Jackson attorney David Watkins —whose lofty offices are in the refurbished Union Station—has come out as an eager investor in the hotel, however, citing nationwide trends for downtown re-development as young families seek to avoid the high gas prices and hazards of a daily commute, choosing chic downtown "mixed-use" living instead.

Months ago Watkins announced a $35 million renovation project, an amount Watkins, football star Deuce McAllister and Historic Restoration Inc. of New Orleans have pulled together from loans, grants and healthy investment from private sources.

"We're pumped. We've been six months behind, kind of waiting for the city folks to get this HUD thing going," said Watkins, who is predicting the development of 120 apartments from single bedroom efficiencies up to three bedrooms—starting at $800 or $900—to occupy eight of the 12 floors. The other four floors are slated for retail and office space.

Currently, investors say they are waiting for a response from the Department of Housing and Urban Development loan request, which they say takes about 30 to 45 days.

Watkins said he has no reason to expect the loan to be rejected.

Over recent months, investors have invested money in preliminary work, such as environmental, general contracting and architectural work, which Watkins described as "not inexpensive."

Investors say more selective demolition is required to ascertain the structural viability of the old hotel, but so far engineers report no serious problems that should sideline the project. Investors are also sifting through paperwork to see if the project qualifies for a BEDI (Brownsfield Economic Development Initiative) grant request that the city may request. If the King Edward qualifies, it would mean an additional $2 million that the city would not have to pay back in loans.

But the new mayor's threat of demolition renewed fears that the historic structure would instead become a gaping hole in downtown Jackson.

A 'Motivational Tool'
John Lawrence, president of Downtown Jackson Partners, said he didn't believe Melton's demand was a one-way road toward demolition by any shot."I think this is a motivational tool," Lawrence said.

"There are a lot of us in town that need to be more actively involved in this project and, in the past, all the people who wanted to see something happen were so segmented. ... Hopefully this will inspire us to start working together as a team to get this done. The way we see it, if you got the money to tear it down, you've got the money to renovate it," Lawrence said.

Temporary city spokeswoman Carolyn Redd told reporters that Melton's King Edward directive was intended to hold the city's own feet to the fire.

However, Watkins said the 30-day ultimatum arose from bad communication.

"Basically the mayor was in an interview with Bert Case (of WLBT), and Case asked him about the King Edward, and Melton said he's going to give those developers 30 days to 'get something on my desk or I'll tear it down.' Since I'm one of the developers I happen to know about all this."

The threat grew legs from there, Watkins said: "Then (Melton) called The Clarion-Ledger and told them what he'd told Channel 3 and then that reporter called me, but before I had a chance to call him back Frank called the Clarion-Ledger reporter back and said 'I made a mistake, it's not the developers who're dragging their feet. It's the city. So I'm giving the city 30 days to get their act together.Ҕ

Watkins said he and investors had met with the city the day before Melton's proclamation to get the HUD loan application finalized. "This HUD loan application had been held up, and (administration director) Peyton (Prospere) finally pulled it away from them and put it on the mayor's desk last Thursday before he made his statements on Friday. So when he was blasting all these folks, the truth is the document was already sitting on his desk ready to sign," he said.

"But I think, God bless him (Melton), we need some shake-up every now and then." Redd said the paperwork had been submitted that following Monday, July 25.

Former Mayor Johnson said he had already signed that application during his own administration, however.

'An Outright Lie'
"There was an inference in the Sunday edition of the Clarion-Ledger that the application for HUD funds had sat on somebody's (city government) desk. "That's another outright lie," Johnson said. "We were moving that application both to and fro. HUD had some hesitation because they felt the incoming mayor may or may not have had the project at heart, but I actually signed that application. That was one of the last things I did in office was sign that application so things could move forward."

Watkins said he agreed that Johnson had stamped his signature.

"Mayor Johnson did sign one before he left office, and I'm not sure exactly what happened. Officially, I can't tell you what happened ... but it's basically the same one that Frank Melton signed."

HUD Acting Field Director Cassandra Terry said she could not comment on the status of the first application.

Investor Deuce McAllister told the Jackson Free Press in February that the King Edward's rebirth is vital to downtown development."People making a commitment to the downtown area, especially the King Edward, will help fuel others to want to come and invest in the city," said McAllister, who also cut the ribbon on his new Nissan dealership here recently. "Whether it is a coffee shop or restaurant or a shopping center, you need something positive to get people interested in coming downtown again."

And that activity, in turn, will help the crime problem that obsesses so many. "You see a lot of people talk about the crime in Jackson and everything, but nothing is going to be perfect. There are always things that you can do better as a city. Just try and improve it."

Timeline: A Storied Past

1861: Major R.O. Edwards, founder of the town of Edwards, Miss., builds the Confederate House, modest by today's standards but lavish for a small Mississippi town surrounded by swamp and prone to flood.

1863: The Confederate House attracts the attention of General William T. Sherman during his burning pillage through the south and is burned to ash.

1867: R.O. Edwards, using federal goodwill funds, begins rebuilding the hotel again, but dies before its completion in 1868.

1922: The hotel, now over 50 and ailing, is demolished. The new Hotel Edwards pops up in its place. The hotel becomes the biggest seat of politics outside the state capitol. Rumored to be a good place to duck prohibition laws, the hotel becomes a top hangout for the political and financially affluent.

1955: Years take their toll, and the Hotel Edwards falls out of fashion. Dumas Milner buys the hotel, vowing to transform it into the state's best hotel. He makes many renovations, including installing an escalator and other period styles.

June 30, 1967: Hotel General Manager E. Bill Green, who began his career as a bellman, locks the doors of the hotel for the last time.

1967-2004: The King Edward suffers from false starts, empty promises and unfounded rumors from hotel owners and half-hearted investors. Suggestions are put forth for the empty structure, from turning it into another hotel, to demolition, to making it into a casino. Shovels, however, do not break the surface of the dirt.

2004: The city acquires the rundown landmark, beginning the process of either renovation or demolition.

Oct. 19, 2004: The Jackson Redevelopment Authority approves a development package for the hotel, allowing HRI Inc., New Orleans Saints running back Deuce McAllister, Matt Bataille of Mandeville, La., and Jackson attorney David Watkins to gut the inside of the hotel to gauge structural requirements.

Read an earlier lengthy thread about Melton's King Edward announcement.

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