Jackson Free Press

Sept. 12, 2011

The incoming CEO of Jackson-based real estate company Parkway Properties plans to remain in Florida after he takes the reins in January.

Parkway CEO Steve Rogers announced Sept. 2 that he will step down at the end of 2011 and Jim Heistand, Parkway's executive chairman, will replace Rogers as CEO.

Heistand is a Florida native and works at Parkway's Orlando office. Rogers said that as the result of a $462-million property acquisition in May, Parkway is more of a virtual company now, so it is not necessary for Heistand to move to Jackson.

Parkway Properties is a national real-estate investment trust with its headquarters in 17,000 square feet of office space in downtown Jackson. The company's principal executive offices are at 188 E. Capitol St., One Jackson Place, which Parkway owns and leases.

Rogers said Parkway has about 75 employees at its Jackson office, most of whom are at the property level. He said it is undecided whether the company will ask people to move to Florida or how much of an impact the change in CEO will have on Parkway's Jackson offices.

"It's kind of hard to say right now," Rogers said. "This was more of a lifestyle change for me and really shouldn't impact our business model going forward."

Rogers said the company has a lot of buildings and people in Jackson now and he expects that to continue.

This spring, Parkway announced a $462-million property acquisition--the largest in the company's history. The company acquired an interest in six office properties totaling 2.5 million square feet in Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia and grew from 260 employees to 400. Parkway owns more than 1 million square feet of office space in Jackson.

Last month, when the downtown Business Improvement District was up for reauthorization, Rogers said Parkway was supportive of the BID. Parkway's main offices are located within the 66-block area covered by the BID.

John Gomez, associate director of Downtown Jackson Partners, said Parkway Properties has always been committed to the Jackson downtown area, and he hasn't heard anything to make him think that will change with a new CEO. Gomez said he is not familiar with Heistand, but he has not heard of any plans for Parkway to move its offices.