DOWNTOWN JACKSON PARTNERS HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CAPITOL STREET RENAISSANCE PROJECT SINCE DAY ONE. THE PROJECT, COMPOSED OF THREE PHASES, CONSISTS OF A COMPLETE MAKEOVER OF CAPITOL STREET, WHICH RUNS RIGHT THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE DOWNTOWN JACKSON BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT. DOWNTOWN JACKSON PARTNERS, THE GREATER JACKSON CHAMBER PARTNERSHIP, PARKWAY PROPERTIES, AND OTHERS RAISED $8.5 MILLION, WITH THE CITY OF JACKSON CONTRIBUTING $700,000 TO FUND THE IMPROVEMENTS OF THE TOTAL $9.2 MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT.
THE IDEA IS TO CHANGE THE ENTIRE COMPLEXION AND ATMOSPHERE OF DOWNTOWN, TO MAKE IT A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE WANT TO BE. THE PROJECT IS CREATING A PEDESTRIAN-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT THAT SLOWS TRAFFIC AND IS CONDUCIVE TO NEIGHBORHOODS AND BUSINESSES WORKING TOGETHER. ONCE COMPLETED, THE PROJECT WILL PROVIDE AN AESTHETICALLY PLEASING SPACE THAT WILL MAKE YOU FEEL GOOD WHILE YOU’RE HERE.
PHASE I OF THE CAPITOL STREET RENAISSANCE PROJECT CONSISTED OF TURNING CAPITOL INTO A TWO-WAY TRAFFIC STRIP FROM GALLATIN STREET TO STATE STREET. IT INCLUDED NEW LIGHTING, SIGNAGE, URBAN FHWA MINI-ROUNDABOUTS, IMPROVED ADA-COMPLIANT SIDEWALKS, A CENTER 6-FOOT “SAFETY STRIP” SEPARATING OPPOSING TRAFFIC LANES, LANDSCAPING, TRAFFIC SIGNALS, AND SHARROWS (BIKE-SHARED LANES) ALONG THE STREET. THIS PHASE ENTAILED SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT FROM MILL STREET TO STATE STREET, AND WATER LINE REPLACEMENT FROM GALLATIN STREET TO STATE STREET, FINISHED IN TWO PHASES WITH ONE PHASE COMPLETED IN 2015 AND THE SECOND PHASE COMPLETED IN 2017.
THE ROADWAY PROJECT INCLUDED ALL INTERSECTIONS FROM GALLATIN STREET TO STATE STREET EITHER RECEIVING NEW TRAFFIC SIGNALS OR ROUNDABOUT INSTALLATION. IT ALSO INCLUDED RESURFACING THE STREET, AS WELL AS IMPLEMENTING NEW LANDSCAPING AND SIDEWALK IMPROVEMENTS, FROM GALLATIN TO LAMAR STREET. FROM LAMAR TO STATE STREET, THE ROAD WAS RESTRIPED.
THE PARKING RAMPS FOR THE PARKING AT JACKSON PLACE GARAGE ON CAPITOL STREET WERE RELOCATED TO FARISH STREET AND ANGLED PARKING WAS INSTALLED FROM MILL STREET TO THE PARKING AT JACKSON PLACE GARAGE, WHICH IS ON THE CORNER OF FARISH AND CAPITOL STREETS.
PHASE II OF THE CAPITOL STREET RENAISSANCE PROJECT WAS COMPLETED IN THE SUMMER OF 2021. DOWNTOWN JACKSON PARTNERS WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN ORGANIZING EFFORTS WITH LEADERS DEVELOPING PHASE II OF THE PLAN. PHASE II INCLUDED THE CITY OF JACKSON COMPLETING THE BLOCK OF CAPITOL STREET BETWEEN LAMAR AND WEST STREETS WITH REBUILT SIDEWALKS, NEW TREES, LIGHTING, AND DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS.
PHASE III OF THE PROJECT IS CURRENTLY UNDERWAY, AND IS LISTED AS ONE OF THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS IN THE CAPITOL COMPLEX IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (CCID) MASTERPLAN. THIS PHASE OF THE PROJECT ENCOMPASSES WEST STREET TO STATE STREET, AND INCLUDES SIDEWALK RECONSTRUCTION, CURB AND GUTTER REPAIR, DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT, AND NEW PEDESTRIAN STREET LIGHTING.
DOWNTOWN JACKSON PARTNERS HAS ALSO BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN FINANCIALLY SUPPORTING, AS WELL AS RAISING ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR, THE CAPITOL STREET RENAISSANCE PROJECT. POWER SOURCES HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN EACH PLANTATION BED FOR TREE LIGHTING PURPOSES AT THE COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT.
ULTIMATELY, THE EAST TO WEST CAPITOL STREET CORRIDOR WILL BE TRANSFORMED FROM ITS BEGINNING AT GALLATIN STREET ALL THE WAY TO STATE STREET, COMPLETE WITH OFFICES, REATIL SHOPS, AND RESTAURANTS LINING THE EIGHT-BLOCK AREA. THE HOPE IS THAT THESE CHANGES WILL LEAD TO MORE RESTAURANTS, SHOPS, AND DEVELOPMENT WITHIN THE DOWNTOWN DISTRICT.