Jackson Developer David Watkins wants to transform the James Eastland Post Office and U.S. Courthouse on Capitol Street into an institute for the arts.
"You've heard of Julliard? Why the hell don't we have our own Julliard? We've got some of the greatest artistic talent of the world—William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, writers, actors, painters, sculptors—and we're losing them (to other states)," Watkins told the Jackson Free Press today. "I want to create a new institute. Let it be under the state of Mississippi, the Institutions of Higher Learning. Let it be a degree granting institution. We have a very small number of schools offering Masters of Fine Arts programs in Mississippi. MFA's are typically three-year programs, and it's the equivalent of a law degree. We'll create this center for the fine arts, and endow it with $100 million."
The federal offices inside the James Eastland building are relocating to a new facility East of Capitol Street in January, leaving the building vacant in 2011 and under the auspices of the U.S. General Services Administration, which will determine the best use for the building. Watkins believes that the GSA would likely be willing to commit the building for use as a Mississippi university for arts, before handing it over for private development.
Watkins estimates renovation of the courthouse will run between $10 million and $15 million, and claims he already has financial backers to provide for the renovation costs and for funding the university's $100 million endowment, even in the current tough economic times.
"I've already talked to some of the richest people in Mississippi and some of the most influential people in Mississippi, and they're saying this is a great idea. 'You get the facility and we're onboard,' they say. Getting the facility is simply a matter of convincing GSA that this is the highest and best use for it. They go through this long list of public uses, and at the very end, if there's no good public use for it, they'll give to someone for private development," Watkins said.
The transformation could prove an easy conversion. The first floor, currently housing a post office, could serve as retail space for shops, art galleries and some office space. The second floor, which presently houses the federal building's court rooms, could convert to art galleries, art studios, and performance halls. The third and fourth floors, currently serving as judicial chambers, would serve a new function as classrooms and offices. Watkins said developers would not have to tear out many rooms at all, and could preserve the antiquity and beauty of the 1930's-era building. The U-shape of the facility also provides potential for additional rooms in the back.
Watkins said he wanted to facilitate the GSA in donating the building to the city of Jackson for the city to lease long term to the IHL, handing it directly to the state of Mississippi, or giving it to a private non-profit foundation to run as a school. The developer, the face behind the renovation of the neighboring King Edward Hotel, Standard Life Building, Union Station and the Farish Street Entertainment District, makes a comparison to Julliard as potential competition.
"We're going to go head-to-head with Julliard," Watkins boasted. "Julliard accepts one out of 40 applicants. Julliard has an endowment of $130 million. They've been around for about 100 years. We're going to start out with a $100-million endowment in the first year, and it'll be a big, big splash. We'll have people from all over the U.S. with Mississippi roots, … and we're going after only the best and the brightest. We'll spend big bucks on the artists/administrators."
Jackson Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. has different plans for the building, however.
"We've toured the building. It's diagonally across from the Governor's Mansion. It would make excellent (business) offices or some other adaptive use. We'd love to see it on the tax rolls. It's a fairly valuable piece of real estate because of its location and its historic significance," said Johnson, who was not sure if the city could draw tax benefits from the facility's use as a non-profit university.
Watkins said the city would derive incredible benefits from the revenue generated by a new arts-specific university in Downtown Jackson. He said an influx of artist would also bring new apartments, studios, art shows, galleries and musicals performances.
"The secondary and tertiary economic impact—the sheer waves of economic impact—will be incredible. We're talking multi-millions of dollars of impact on the city of Jackson," Watkins said, also touting the benefit of a positive image change for the city.
"The city of Jackson, known for its civil rights struggles, gets a brand new face out of this," Watkins said." All over the world, we'll have the Farish Street Entertainment District being advertised—but we'll also be considered the home of the fine arts."
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