Jackson Free Press

JACKSON — Sterling McCool with Jackon-based real estate company Marketplace Real Estate will conduct an auction for the historic Sgt. Prentiss Building (1010 Monroe St., Vicksburg) on April 9.

Finished in 1791, the building is one of the oldest in Vicksburg and originally served as the headquarters for the city militia. At the time of its construction, Sgt. Smith Prentiss, the building's namesake, served as governor of the region that Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana now comprise.

After Prentiss left the property, it came into the possession of Jefferson Davis, who used the building to direct troops during the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1848. Cannon fire damaged the building during the Siege of Vicksburg during the Civil War. The structure went unused until the Partee family purchased it after the Civil War for $25 and restored it.

The two-story, 2,648-square-foot office building will be open for a weekend preview starting April 2 at 3 p.m. The auction will take place onsite April 9 at 2 p.m.

"This building would serve well as a law office or engineering space," McCool said. "It's being sold with a very low reserve, so it's highly likely to sell at auction. The bidding should start somewhere around $60,000 start price, which is half or even a third of what a building like this would likely go for in Jackson."

For more information, contact Sterling McCool at 601-624-3227.

VF Outlet Coming to Outlets of Mississippi

The Outlets of Mississippi, the state's largest outlet shopping destination, has revealed the identity of a previously mentioned mystery tenant set to open at the shopping center this spring. The Outlets announced in a release last week that VF Outlet, which became the first store to open an outlet center in the United States in 1970, will be moving into Suite 320 in May, around the same time as Bath & Body Works, Francesca's and Doc Popcorn.

"We are very excited to announce this news and are sure that our outlet customers will enjoy the VF offerings, which will include brands such as Lee and Wrangler for men, women and children, and intimate apparel for women, such as Maidenform and Olga, to name a few," Outlets of Mississippi Manager Kathy Hackshaw said in the release.

VF Outlet also carries clothing brands such as Nautica, Vanity Fair, Majestic, JanSport, Angels, Derek Heart, Timber Creek, Riders, Reef and Warner's.

For more information, contact the Outlets of Mississippi at 769-972-3000.

2016 National Small Business Week Awards

Maria Contreras-Sweet, the head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, announced the 54 winners of the 2016 National Small Business Week Awards last week. The 17 award categories range in topics such exporting, outreach, contracting, lending, disaster recovery, manufacturing, research and development.

These awards follow the announcement of 54 Small Business Person of the Year state and territorial winners last week, including entrepreneur Mike Pornovets, owner of Everything Kayak in Gulfport. Those winners are now set to compete for 2016's National Small Business Person of the Year. All the award recipients have been invited to Washington, D.C., to participate in events and ceremonies on May 1 and 2.

"National Small Business Week is an important moment when we honor our nation's 28 million small businesses and renew our commitment to fostering the entrepreneurial spirit that is central to small business success," Contreras-Sweet said in a release. "This year's recipients are educators and dynamic leaders in their respective small business fields. It is an honor to celebrate their hard work and success."

For more information about National Small Business Week and a full list of all the award winners, visit www.sba.gov/nsbw.

East Metro Parkway Groundbreaking

The second phase of construction on East Metro Parkway, located directly east of the Jackson Municipal Airport, will break ground Thursday, March 31, at the corner of El Dorado Road and East Metro Parkway. The project, which eventually will connect Lakeland Drive to Old Brandon Road, will open the area for more development. The construction is the result of cooperation between the Jackson Municipal Airport Authority and the cities of Brandon, Pearl and Flowood. The ground-breaking event begins at 2 p.m. and is open to the public.