Aldermen Hear Arguments for New Furniture Store in Former Vowell’s Location

STARKVILLE, Mississippi – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Zack Plair

Attorney Julie Brown spoke to Starkville aldermen recently on behalf of Pearl’s Miskelly Furniture. Their company purchased the old Vowell’s Marketplace property after shut down in 2021. they are looking into what incentives the City might offer them to open up there, as they have put over $3 million into renovating the building for future retail use, and they are already bringing in Dollar Tree and Ace Hardware as tenants. They are asking that the City allow them a 10-year property tax exemption. “They could have gone to Oxford, Tupelo, or Columbus. But they picked Starkville,” Brown said. “But, of course, they’re like everybody else. They’ve got a budget, and they need to make it work.” Brown argued that the sales tax income would more than make up for the temporary loss in property tax revenue.

The aldermen discussed the matter during the hearing, but chose to table the matter for now. Some expressed their concerns, including Ward 3’s Jeffrey Rupp: “I want to be cautious on how much sales tax it’s going to generate because if you’re going to Ace Hardware, does that mean you’re not going to East Mississippi Lumber?” he asked. “Does that mean you’re not going to Lowe’s? Is that creating new tax dollars? I think it will with Miskelly. I think (that’s) a great get.”

Ward 1 Alderwoman Kim Moreland, serving her first meeting on the board, said, “I’m for getting them here, but I don’t want to give more than we have to to get them here.”

Corner Market had been looking at the location at one point, but decided against it last year.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/miskelly-furniture-eyeing-old-vowells-spot/

#starkvillems #pearlms #aldermen #vowells #miskellyfurniture

Burns Bottom Redevelopment Proposals Sought

COLUMBUS, Mississippi – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Kevin Edwards

The Columbus Redevelopment Authority recently decided to seek proposals for the potential redevelopment of the Burns Bottom area from developers. The zone covers a five-block area between Third & Fourth Street and Second & Seventh Avenue North. Formal advertising will begin on Feb. 22nd, with the hopes that a selection will be made by the end of August; proposals will be accepted until April 26th.

The CRA, which has already purchased dozens of plots there (mostly ones that are vacant or dilapidated), says that they “[seek] to transform the site into a destination for residential living accompanied by dining, shopping and other amenities.” It also says the developer selected would ideally “incorporate a variety of uses to stimulate activity at the site, such as street-facing retail.

“We want to show (developers) that (the CRA has) gone through enough hoops to know that the property is viable for development,” said City Engineer Kevin Stafford, one of the authors of the RFP.

The CRA has a $3 million fund available to them for use on infrastructure projects in the area. “That’s a big incentive with cash in hand,” Stafford said. “All these other things are things we could offer you. This is something on the table that you’re going to need to use.”

A public interest meeting has been tentatively scheduled for March of this year so that residents can weigh in with their own concerns and questions; the CAC has offered to play host to the event at no cost.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/proposals-sought-for-burns-bottom-redevelopment/

#columbusms #columbusredevelopmentauthority #bursnbottom #redevelopment #urbanrenewal

GTRA Gets the State’s First Electric Aircraft Charging Station

COLUMBUS, Mississippi – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Kevin Edwards

The Golden Triangle Regional Airport, in cooperation with Avflight and Beta Technologies, has installed Mississippi’s first charging station usable by electrically-powered aircraft. This is one step along the path to establishing a proper infrastructure for the technology across the nation. Eighteen other such stations are already in service, with another fifty in the works as of this time. “We’re really excited about it because it’s another option when it comes to supporting advanced aviation and aircraft,” Matt Dowell, the airport’s executive director, told The Dispatch. “Electric aircraft are in development right now (and) being certified. We like to have as much infrastructure to support aviation as possible.”

It was noted that the station is designed to work with aircraft from a variety of different manufacturers and operators, and also serves as a charger for electric automobiles; the car charger is open to the public, and both chargers operate off of an app to allow for easy payment. The current range of a sample small aircraft is about 350-400 miles/2.5 hours of flight time at 120 knots (enough to reach Augusta, GA, for example); it costs only about $50 in power to reach that far, as opposed to a few hundred dollars in aviation fuel for a standard plane.

“The whole picture is, there isn’t the charge station infrastructure out there for electric aviation, so someone’s got to do that,” flight test engineer Emma Davis said. “If we want to fly our aircraft throughout the country, what’s the best way to do that? It’s to have a charge station that we’ve built (and) implemented in place.”

They expect the chargers to primarily be used by ground vehicles, at least at first, as FAA approval is gained for more and more electric aircraft over the years – but that means having the chargers available first. In the meantime, the airport is making sure that they will have the needed structures and personnel in place to support them.

Please click here for the original articles/more information: https://cdispatch.com/news/gtra-home-to-mississippis-first-electric-airplane-charger/

#gtra #goldentriangle #electriccharging #aviation #columbusms

The LINK Continues to Prepare its Members for the Future

Golden Triangle, Mississippi – Courtesy of the GTD LINK

The LINK’s Director of Finance, Leah Upton, recently graduated from the MDEC’s 2023 Emerging Leaders Fellows program. The ELF seeks to help emerging financial professionals in the state via a program of year-long training and immersion in their field. We here at GfB offer our Congratulations to Leah and all of the other graduates, as we wish them luck in their future endeavors!

Please click here for the original articles/more information: https://www.gtrlink.org/upton-graduates-from-emerging-leaders-fellows-program

Glo Pals is Glowing Up!

STARKVILLE, MS

Glo Pals is a local company that began just a few years ago, offering items such as children’s sensory toys & cubes that light up in water. They brought in some veteran talent from its founders’ alma mater, MSU, some time back to help mentor the company, and now, they have become executives at the rapidly-growing firm. The items they sell are offered via their own website (below) and at major retailers such as Macy’s, Target, and more. Their designs include original characters, as well as ones licensed by Sesame Street and Mr Rogers/Daniel Tiger.

New COO Eric Hill said, “I’ve seen Glo rise from a small yet ambitious startup to a leading industry player with multiple product lines that touch every corner of the globe. Joining the leadership team at this critical point is an incredible opportunity to further expand Glo’s business and brand.”

Please click here for the original articles/more information:

https://www.facebook.com/1286070330/posts/10223386906522642

https://toybook.com/glo-executive-hires-news

https://glopals.com

Liquor Store, Montessori School Coming soon

COLUMBUS, MS

Park Place owner Gail Stevens expressed her gratitude for the many customers who have supported her Main Street salon/boutique over the past decade as they prepare to move to their new location at 3451 New Hope Road: “We love downtown, we absolutely loved it,” Stevens said. “We were just able to find a building within a mile from our house.” Her daughter, Tina Beth Cruse, will run the salon in its new digs. Once they reopen – which will be soon – their hours will be Tu~Fri 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sat 10-4

Tupelo’s Little Legends Montessori Academy plans to open its doors to students at its new Columbus location, at 420 31st Ave. N., beginning this March. Shemeka Williams, program director and owner, said, “I can just feel the need,” Williams said. “I asked God to lead me, and everything just fell into place. . . I love [the Montessori model],” Williams said. “I love to cater to my children.” They are currently accepting applications for 3- to 6-year-old children.

Finally, construction vehicles have been put to work at 2212 Military Road, across from Lowes. Gill Fani, owner of King’s Court near downtown, said Military Express is slated to be open by this summer. It will feature a convenience store with a kitchen & dining area, a liquor store, and a laundromat all under one roof.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/mary-means-business-park-place-closes-in-downtown-columbus-reopens-in-new-hope/

Go See the Music Man

STARKVILLE, MS – Courtesy of the Starkville Daily News and Devin Ammons

From a young age, Scott “Scooter” Thomas always wanted to run a record store. With the advents of CDs and later, digital music, it appeared that he might never get that chance. However, the renaissance of vinyl records in the past several years granted him the opportunity to realize his dream; he opened “Scooter’s” in 2017 and he has been going strong ever since. His shop stocks a variety of media, but specializes primarily in vinyl.

“This is something I always wanted to do,” said Thomas. “I went to school out of state and I was done in the early 90s. I wanted to do this then but records had kind of gone away, and it was all CDs, and I hate CDs. When I was a kid, my aunt worked in a record store. She gave me some of my first records. You know, I grew up with records. I’ve always been into records, and I knew where all the record stores were that still had records within a 200 mile radius. There was a record store called Crossroads that was over by where George Sherman’s is, and the guy that owned that place had baskets and baskets and baskets of records, and he was trying to get rid of them. So he would let me take crates of records home for like $10. So, I sort of built up a pretty good record collection then, but that really helped out.”

Please click here for the original article: https://www.starkvilledailynews.com/news/scott-thomas-is-keeping-music-alive/article_46a2cdd0-c11c-11ee-9cf0-d760ca71e106.html

ProGraphics Under New Ownership and Keeping it All Local

GTR AREA, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Mary Pollitz

Trae Vaughan and his business partners recently acquired the Prographics stores in both Columbus and Starkville, ensuring that the stores will continue to be locally-owned and operated for many years to come. “It was a great opportunity,” Vaughan said. “It’s a great business with a great reputation. . . We just want to build upon what the previous owners have built, continue to serve the local community, do business locally, and employ people locally.”

They have stated that things will be business as usual with regards to both staffing and the services & products that they offer. They have been working with the prior owner in order to make sure that things go smoothly. They specialize in printing needs of all kinds, such as photocopies, promotional products, t-shirts, and more!

Columbus: 1112 Main St

Starkville: 124 Hwy. 12.

Hours for both: Mon~Fri 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/mary-means-business-new-shipley-owner-worked-there-part-time-during-college/

Macon Trailer Manufacturer Celebrates Four Decades of Quality Craftsmanship

MACON, MS – Courtesy of the Macon Beacon and Scott Boyd

Farmer Mike Banks got his start in the early 80’s when he made an investment in soybeans that paid off in a big way. He decided that he “wanted to take that money and start something that would last.” He took the profit and started up a business building utility trailers, cattle trailers, and the like to sell to farmers in the area, always looking to fill their needs with a solid, reliable product; he calls it “Trailboss Trailers, Inc.” He started small: “I didn’t have a fork lift, so I couldn’t build anything using parts that my tractor and forks wouldn’t pick up,” he went on to say.

Eventually, Banks wanted to expand his business, so he got a small loan from his friend and fellow farmer Errol Wedel to get some advertising done. It worked well enough that he was able to repay the loan within a year. Banks also gives credit to other members of the community that have helped his business thrive and expand: “So, I can’t say I did it all by myself,” Banks said. “There have been many people who have helped and supported me through the years, like Bob Boeckner who started working for me when I was in the old shop, about 38 years ago,” he said. Boeckner is now the manager of Trailboss’s purchasing department.

In the intervening years, the business has shifted to primarily making larger trailer units for bigger jobs, up to and including ones used by Boeing; they could not find a trailer that suited their need, so he invented one. The business has now been around for forty years and is going strong. He even built a cafeteria for his workers in the late 1990s to make sure they were well-fed, and that business now serves all sorts of hungry customers from far and wide as the Wagon Wheel Restaurant.

The Mayor of Macon, Buz McGuire expressed his admiration for Banks: “He’s not only the one behind one of our major industries, he also does much to support the community – many times in ways that most people don’t even know about. . . He saw a need for a restaurant and it has become such a valuable part of this community.”

“As a business owner, I feel I have a responsibility to contribute as much as I can to our community,” Banks said. “Noxubee County has been good to me and I enjoy giving back.”

Please click here for their FB pages:

Trailboss Trailers, Inc.

The Wagon Wheel

The Macon Beacon

City Gear Coming to Columbus Place

COLUMBUS, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Mary Pollitz

Mary Pollitz is back on the business beat at the Dispatch! Big thanks to her and the paper for the info.

Columbus Place (née Leigh Mall) is continuing to undergo their major renovations, and among those changes is a new shop! City Gear, a store that sells items such as streetwear and big-name shoes, etc., will be moving into the old JC Penney slot. Hibbet Sports, which owns CG, will be moving their own store from its current location within the mall to another outward-facing location in the same building. Hibbett VP Jeff Gray said, “These moves will allow us to bring a newly remodeled Hibbett location as well as our City Gear brand to the market. . . We feel that with easier access and better visibility with the outside entrances, we can better serve the Columbus market.”

Also, Bath and Body Works is moving to its own new location at 1496 Old Aberdeen Way, the former Bedzzz Express.

Please click here for the original article: https://cdispatch.com/news/mary-means-business-bath-and-body-works-leaving-hibbett-moving-within-columbus-place/