Contact: Maridith Geuder
Like their counterparts in other states, Mississippi communities regularly must contend with discount stores, groceries and other retail outlets whose departure to other locales often leaves behind a significant financial and architectural burden.
At a special meeting sponsored Tuesday [June 8] by Mississippi State University's Fred Carl Small Town Center, an invited group of participants will examine how communities can respond to these losses.
The 10 a.m.-3 p.m. workshop at the College of Architecture's Stuart C. Irby Jr. Studio will include state and local leaders, real estate professionals, developers, and architects. The studio is located downtown at 507 Capitol St.
"Across the state, communities are facing the issue of empty commercial 'box' buildings, because a number of retail chains elect to build new stores before the functioning store is in need of repairs or appears worn," said center director Kimberly Brown.
Brown and Michelle Jones, community outreach coordinator for the state Department of Archives and History, will lead the multi-phase discussion. After receiving ideas and suggestions from a wide range of resources, the center hopes to begin developing partnerships with other interested public and private organizations, agencies and individuals.
"We want to raise awareness that the cost of capital improvements to build new facilities may, in the long term, outweigh the costs of rehabilitating an existing structure," Jones said. "We hope to identify the 'real' costs of reusing an abandoned building by studying successful models in other places. Our goal is to help communities envision innovative, sustainable alternatives for these abandoned big box stores."
In successive phases of the study, the center will seek to develop design guidelines, including potential program possibilities and sustainability suggestions. A one-day design summit to present the guidelines and illustrate how problems might best be solved in a hypothetical Mississippi town will conclude the project.
Though not a public event, the meeting welcomes all interested members of the news media. For more information, telephone the Carl Center at (662) 325-2202.