Jackson Free Press

For three years, the Mississippi Valley Title Building has weighed on Hinds County's budget without contributing much of anything in the way of revenue. Purchased in 2007 for a planned expansion of county offices, the building has sat more or less dormant since the county scrapped those original plans. Now, the county appears to be closing in on a sale of the building for private development, with the help of bonds from the federal stimulus package.

The 40,000-square-foot building, located at 315 Tombigbee and Congress streets in downtown Jackson, formerly housed Mississippi Valley Title Insurance.

The county Board of Supervisors agreed to purchase the building for $2.5 million in 2007, using funds from a $30 million bond issue. The bond issue was also intended to finance two other projects: the county penal farm, which is complete, and a $14 million parking garage that the county is not pursuing.

Along with housing larger offices for several county departments, the Valley Title Building was intended to provide a new home for the county's juvenile detention. The plan did not meet federal regulations for juvenile facilities, though, and estimated renovation costs were prohibitively high. The county began looking to sell the building in 2008. In the meantime, the county rented office space to an attorney but has spent $7,300 per month on the utilities for the building.

A weak economic climate has made finding a buyer difficult. "The credit markets back at that time were really seized up," said Blake Wallace, executive director of the Hinds County Economic Development District. "One developer that was looking at it—the bank wanted 50 percent down (payment). That's a lot of money to come up with. Now you have a recovering economy; credit markets aren't quite as tight as they were then, so maybe with the right project, the financing can come."

To sweeten the deal, the Board of Supervisors voted Feb. 16 to attach $1.76 million in federal stimulus bonds as an incentive for buying the building. The tax-exempt bonds, officially called Recovery Zone Facility Bonds, function much like the Gulf Opportunity (GO) Zone Bonds that helped finance private development in Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina. Federal legislation allows private entities to issue these bonds, the sale of which then provides capital for development projects.

Supervisor George Smith said that the county's push for private development of the building comes at an opportune time, with the imminent completion of a new federal courthouse nearby on South Street.

"I think we have an excellent chance to sell it," Smith said. "Once the federal building comes on line, there will be a real need for office buildings (for the) attorneys and overflow of businesses in that area that will be doing business with the federal government. The federal building will be a catalyst."

Jackson realtor Josette Barton is handling the building's sale and is asking for $2.9 million. Barton told the Jackson Free Press Friday that several local and out-of-state developers have expressed interest in buying the building.

"I think things have really picked up towards that transaction," Barton said. "A lot of investors or developers have been interested. A lot are doing their research or due diligence on the building right now, just trying to see what other funds are available out there to assist with the renovation of the building."

A developer would have until the end of the year to issue the time-sensitive $1.76 million in bonds, said Tony Gaylor, a bond attorney who has been hired by the county. At an April meeting, the board discussed the possibility of applying the federal bonds to a different project if a buyer does not appear.

"It needs to be done as soon as possible, because they could use the money for other projects or other developments," Barton said.

On Monday, May 3, supervisors discussed a draft contract for the building's sale with Barton during an executive session.