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What can $20 million buy? In Jackson, it could give people a reason to come downtown again while providing some needed competition to the city’s sole movie theater operator.

An investment group—which includes Jackson businessman Chuck Clark, U.S. District Court Judge James Todd and Madison County Juvenile Court Judge Christy Little—has proposed building a 17-screen movie theater in downtown. A later phase of what the city is touting as an “entertainment district” would add shops and restaurants.

Spicing up Jackson’s downtown nightlife won’t be hard—there’s not much. A series of failed bars and restaurants have tried to bring regular nighttime entertainment downtown.

But these latest investors are taking their cues from an Urban Land Institute report that says a well-run movie theater is what will consistently attract people downtown for entertainment. Once in place, investors and city officials hope other businesses—ice cream shops, pizza places and bars—will be better able to survive.

Whether the theater will succeed in bringing entrepreneurs—and foot traffic—downtown is anybody’s guess. Most of the city’s more active retail developers avoid the downtown area. Several developers, who did not want to be quoted for this story, say the area is simply too risky for investment. While downtown’s land would be cheaper than building on the city’s edges, the projected returns for a retail project are not seen as enough to make it work. Also, despite improving crime statistics, the perception of downtown as being unsafe still lingers in many minds.

But talk to Jackson Downtown Development Corp. Director Mary Bearden or Jackson City Councilman Charles Rahm, and you hear a different story about the area’s future.

“There are already more nighttime activities downtown now,” Rahm says. “This is the beginning of a good trend and a good time for the investors to get involved in what’s going on.” If built, the theater will be the “catalyst to make other things happen,” Bearden says.

The theater’s other impact might be to make Memphis theater management company Ajay Theaters a little nervous. Ajay has a monopoly in Jackson and operates Jackson’s 26 screens between two theaters—each located north of downtown.

Jackson Metro Cinemas obviously believes there is room for competition, and rightly so. The county is the center of a 13-county trade area made up of nearly 400,000 people. Last year, this same area saw $3 billion in retail sales.

Clark and his group face an uphill battle as they try to kickstart downtown’s entertainment district, including environmental problems at the proposed site.

But perhaps mighty film franchises like Spider Man and Harry Potter can succeed where mere bartenders and restaurateurs have failed. feedback: meyer@businesstn.com

Henderson is planning on doing a recount of its population. The special census is aimed at capturing extra state-shared revenue that is tied to population. In the 2000 census, the city’s population was listed as 5,800 and city officials feel they could capture 1,200 more with a special census. If the city succeeds, it expects its state-shared taxes to increase by $100,000 a year.

Struggling fabricated textile products maker Dyer Fabrics will not be able to recover from bankruptcy proceedings it began in July 2004, a federal judge told them late last year. The company was formed following the dissolution of Dyersburg Fabrics and its parent company Dyersburg Corp. The company had employed 107 and had promised to expand to 300.

The first engine blocks have rolled off the assembly lines at Toyota subsidiary Bodine Aluminum in Jackson. Toyota wants the plant to be making one million engine blocks a year when it is at full capacity. The blocks will be shipped to the Georgetown, Ky., plant to be used inside the Camry and the Avalon. The Jackson plant represents about $165 million of investment and employs 53 workers. It plans to hire up to 170 more by late 2007.

The FBI is investigating former state representative Ray Davis on suspicions he defrauded would-be investors out of tens of thousands of dollars. In The Jackson Sun, FBI officials described a Ponzi-type scheme whereby Davis took loans and promised certain rates of return—but then never really invested any money. Davis, who runs an export/import business in Milan, told The Sun through an attorney that he was innocent. Davis served in District 79 from 1979 to 1992.

The price tag for the Jackson Sportsplex increased in November when the city council approved the purchase—rather than the lease—of lighting for the 17-field softball/baseball facility. Besides lighting, other construction and field design needs have pushed the project to an estimated $13.1 million, rather than the $11 million originally approved.

A forecasted nursing shortage in rural West Tennessee and an emphasis on nursing education is the impetus for a recent $1.94 million federal grant given to Jackson State Community College. JSCC’s project calls for 100 LPNs to become RNs through an intensive one-year program. Also, money will be used to promote nursing as a career among middle and high school students.

A worker at Jackson’s Procter & Gamble Pringles facility will get his day in federal court as his wrongful termination suit moves forward. Dan Long says he was fired in 2002 for complaining to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of potential race discrimination. In court papers, the company says Long was fired because he falsified quality control reports and lied on his job application.

The STAR Center, a nonprofit that provides work-related training for the disabled, has received a $75,000 boost from West Tennessee Healthcare. The health care giant has promised $15,000 a year for five years to help continue the center’s work.

The University of Tennessee at Martin will receive $690,000 in federal funds over the next three years to strengthen instruction in mathematics and science as part of the Tennessee Mathematics and Science Partnerships program. The goal is to increase student performance through the professional development of teachers. U.T. Martin’s award is part of the $450 million nationwide competitive grant program. U.T. Martin’s partners in the grant are Dyersburg City Schools, Humboldt City Schools, Lexington City Schools, Union City Schools and Hardin County Schools.

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