May 2004 Best Laid Plans By W. Matt Meyer
The Urban Land Institute and Harvard’s Graduate School
of Design weigh in on Jackson’s rebuilding effort
A year after two tornadoes ripped through Jackson and claimed lives, homes and businesses, the city is poised to launch several redevelopment efforts.
And it’s doing so with a little help from some friends.
Because of the severity of the storms—eleven were killed and damages to buildings and homes were estimated in the tens of millions of dollars—Jackson attracted the attention of several nationally known groups for rebuilding advice.
One, the Washington, D.C.-based Urban Land Institute (ULI), sent an advisory panel in August that offered suggestions on everything from the importance of greenspace to how to secure federal funding.
Another visitor was a class from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design. The group—made up of real estate executives from around the world—descended on Jackson’s badly damaged downtown in February.
These visits came about, in part, because of former Indianapolis Mayor Bill Hudnut. Now working for ULI as a public policy expert, Hudnut is credited for redeveloping his then declining city in the 1980s.
At the urging of his friend, Jackson Mayor Charles Farmer, Hudnut came to Jackson less than a month after the May 4, 2003, storms.
“The situation in Jackson seemed drastic in the way downtown was blitzed and the way homes in nearby East Jackson were destroyed,” Hudnut says. “It looked like a bomb was dropped. There was obviously going to be a lot of rebuilding and repositioning done.”
Key for Jack- son now, Hudnut says, is to keep its older, interior spaces relevant.
“It is important that Jackson holds the center and does not let all of the development go to the periphery,” Hudnut says. “Jackson was of course hurt by the tornado, but even before that, lots of development was heading out to I-40. It’s important to try and revitalize the downtown.”
Hudnut also is responsible for encouraging the Harvard class to look at Jackson as a case study for a project examining the interplay of public and private efforts.
The Harvard class focused on one section of downtown—the West Tennessee Farmers’ Market—and came up with the idea of “Market Quarter.” An ambitious plan, the area would be a focal point for downtown and include a clock tower, public ball fields, a hotel and space set aside for retail and residential development. The ULI plan laid out similar ideas for the area, calling for a convention center and movie theaters.
James McKinney, a member of the Harvard group, encourages Jackson leaders to quickly seize the opportunities provided by the tornado, even if the group’s specific ideas are not pursued.
“After the storm, you had the attention of the world and everyone wanted to help out,” says McKinney, president and CEO of Evansville, Ind.-based commercial real estate firm Regency Commercial Associates. “But over time, that memory starts to fade. So now it’s more back into the hands of the community there.”
Hudnut agrees.
“Sometimes people want to go back to what was,” Hudnut says. “The next challenge is to move forward and come up with new ideas for spaces that were obliterated by tragedy.”
Jackson officials have high aims for their redevelopment plans and hope to fix many storm-related problems—many of which they acknowledge existed before May 2003.
“The idea that great things can be accomplished is starting to gel,” says Jackson’s tornado recovery coordinator Marci Harris.
City officials now have a redevelopment plan, thanks to the ULI and the U.S. Economic Development Agency, and will use the document to guide its efforts. The plan’s goals include rebuild- ing storm-damaged areas, improving the quality of life, enhancing Jackson’s tax base and preventing and/or eliminating slums and blight.
Getting help from experts in urban planning aided Jackson tremendously, Harris says.
“But, as Mayor Farmer has said repeatedly, ‘Plans are like diets; they all work if you stick with them,’” Harris says. “We have a plan, and we are trying to stick with it.”
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