GOLDEN TRIANGLE AREA, MS – Courtesy of Progress/The Dispatch
Developer Saunders Ramsey is bringing a touch of the good ol’ days to Starkville with Creole, Acadian, and French Colonial houses in the new Adelaide subdivision. The houses are designed to encourage folks to sit on the generous front porches – perhaps with a glass of iced tea or a Mint Julep in hand – and wile away the hot summer hours chatting with their neighbors: “It’s where new meets the old,” Ramsey said. “We are going way back to before conventional subdivisions. We’re using the ability to influence behavior through design.”
Meanwhile, in Columbus, Guy Mackey has renovated two existing apartment complexes (College Manor on College St and Park Manor in Lee Park), giving them new life: “Nothing had been done to them in 30 or 40 years,” he said. “We didn’t anticipate going to the extent that we did, but it made sense to focus on getting it done right. And that’s a great thing for the community.”
It just really dated back to the 70s,” Mackey said. “We gave it a nice facelift though.”
Developer Scott Berry is moving forward on his project to turn the old abandoned Lee school building into loft apartments, though he is keeping some of the school’s old touches, such as an intercom in one corner, the original school doors, and rows of lockers that were once used by students of all stripes: “If you’re familiar with the school, once you get into the old apartments, there’s no doubt you’ll know where you are,” Berry said.