Jackson Free Press

Downtown Jackson Partners President Ben Allen remains miffed that a local newspaper used his name and the words "on the shelf" in connection to the Farish Street Entertainment District.

Allen, who is not directly quoted in The Clarion-Ledger as saying the project is "on the shelf," briefly addressed a crowd of about 50 this morning at Koinonia Coffee House. He said he did not intend to send the message that Farish Street, under the leadership of Watkins Development, is stalled.

"We spent some hour and a half talking about what was going on downtown, and the conversation turned to Farish Street," Allen said, recounting his June 7 special presentation to the Jackson City Council and Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. "I calmly explained that David (Watkins) had some financing issues."

Allen said he told the audience that the state of Mississippi committed to a $5 million loan to Watkins Development as part of a larger $420 million loan package. The state withdrew its support of the $5 million loan "at the 11th hour," Allen said. He added that Watkins was working to overcome those issues.

"How that turned into Ben Allen saying the project is stalled is honest-to-God beyond me," Allen said this morning. He offered an apology "for trying to honestly answer a question in a roomful of mature adults, and one of them happened to be an irresponsible reporter."

The Clarion-Ledger reported the project's newest financial hurdle this week, based on council members' reactions to Allen's account, but the reporter could not reach Watkins for a response prior to publication.

Watkins told the Jackson Free Press yesterday that he was unavailable to take The Clarion-Ledger's call at the time, but now regrets not having spoken to the reporter. Watkins said he has dedicated his personal money to cover the $5 million shortfall and move the project forward. With funding in place, he expects the first new Farish Street entertainment venue to open in December.

Check the Jackson Free Press print issue next week for a more in-depth report on Farish Street's progress.

Previous Commentsshow

Adam, I think I should clarify your statement that I "regret not having spoken to the reporter." I regret they he didn't make a genuine effort in contacting me before the story ran. For the record, I received only 1 unidentified call (according to my cell phone log)and it had a 318 area code. I had NO voice mails from the reporter. I received no emails from the C.L. either. I simply had no idea that anybody from the C.L. was looking for me. The reporter didn't bother to call anybody else in my company, call my office or my home before he published his report. Nor did he bother to walk a few blocks down the street to see for himself whether or not the project was shut down. Why didn't they hold the story for another day until they could talk with somebody that had any official position with the development or any direct knowledge of the project? Maybe they can give you a good answer; they couldn't give me one. David Watkins

Pops

Jun 11 2011

A week after Adam published the above story, The Clarion-Ledger apparently did another story backtracking out of their report that Farish Street was "on the shelf."

DonnaLadd

Jun 21 2011