Mar 1, 2023 - Madison County, MS
by: WLBT News
An investment from the state could make Madison County’s Megasite more attractive to developers.
Gov. Tate Reeves recently announced he was allocating $5.1 million to Madison County to build an additional access point to the industrial site near the Nissan factory.
Madison County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Joey Deason says the funds will go a long way in bringing new industry to the location.
“One of the discussion items we’ve had with not only site consultants but with companies is the fact that there’s only one ingress and egress to the park,” he said. “If something were to happen there, at that one entrance, you don’t have an alternative way to get your employees and your truck traffic out.”
“The Megasite is a roughly 1,000-acre swath set aside for industrial development.
It is currently home to a 700,000-square-foot Amazon Fulfillment Center, an Entergy substation and a 100,000-square-foot spec building and is currently a semi-finalist for two other development projects, Deason said.
“It’s complete from a shell building standpoint,” Deason said. “The thing with a spec building is you don’t want to finish it completely because you don’t know who the tenant will be.”
“When we have a tenant, it will be built out to meet their requirements.”
The $5.1 million comes from a $40 million allocation from the state legislature in 2022. Reeves recently awarded the money to projects across the state.
Deason says he is still waiting for the official award letter from the Mississippi Development Authority, which he expects to receive this week.
“We’ve already done a lot of the preliminary work with our application that we submitted to MDA showing the layout, the design of the road… but the true engineering and design will take place once we formally have been awarded [the money],” he said. “It’s our goal to be advertised, bid and ready to go to construction end of the spring, first of the summer.”
The new access road will run along the north side of the property from Virlilia Road to the end of the access road at the Amazon plant. The existing entrance to the Megasite is located along U.S. Highway 22.
The green line shows the location of a new access road funded with a state allocation.(MCEDA)
Deason said MCEDA still must acquire some right-of-way for the work, but the Walker family, the owners of the needed property, appear on board with the idea.
“It’s part of the option property that MCEDA currently has out there at the Megasite as well,” he said. “We still have about 150 acres under option. The rest of it, the county owns.”
Click here to see MCEDA’s drone footage of the site.
$5.1 million state investment could help bring new business to Madison Co. Megasite
MADISON COUNTY, Miss. (WLBT) – An investment from the state could make Madison County’s Megasite more attractive to developers.
Gov. Tate Reeves recently announced he was allocating $5.1 million to Madison County to build an additional access point to the industrial site near the Nissan factory.
Madison County Economic Development Authority Executive Director Joey Deason says the funds will go a long way in bringing new industry to the location.
“One of the discussion items we’ve had with not only site consultants but with companies is the fact that there’s only one ingress and egress to the park,” he said. “If something were to happen there, at that one entrance, you don’t have an alternative way to get your employees and your truck traffic out.”
“The Megasite is a roughly 1,000-acre swath set aside for industrial development.
It is currently home to a 700,000-square-foot Amazon Fulfillment Center, an Entergy substation and a 100,000-square-foot spec building and is currently a semi-finalist for two other development projects, Deason said.
The spec building, another project designed to make the site more attractive to developers, was approved by the Madison County Board of Supervisors last year.
“It’s complete from a shell building standpoint,” Deason said. “The thing with a spec building is you don’t want to finish it completely because you don’t know who the tenant will be.”
“When we have a tenant, it will be built out to meet their requirements.”
The $5.1 million comes from a $40 million allocation from the state legislature in 2022. Reeves recently awarded the money to projects across the state.
Deason says he is still waiting for the official award letter from the Mississippi Development Authority, which he expects to receive this week.
“We’ve already done a lot of the preliminary work with our application that we submitted to MDA showing the layout, the design of the road… but the true engineering and design will take place once we formally have been awarded [the money],” he said. “It’s our goal to be advertised, bid and ready to go to construction end of the spring, first of the summer.”
The new access road will run along the north side of the property from Virlilia Road to the end of the access road at the Amazon plant. The existing entrance to the Megasite is located along U.S. Highway 22.
The green line shows the location of a new access road funded with a state allocation.(MCEDA)
Deason said MCEDA still must acquire some right-of-way for the work, but the Walker family, the owners of the needed property, appear on board with the idea.
“It’s part of the option property that MCEDA currently has out there at the Megasite as well,” he said. “We still have about 150 acres under option. The rest of it, the county owns.”
Click here to see MCEDA’s drone footage of the site.
Deason says another allocation proposed by the governor also could help with economic development in Madison County.
The governor recently proposed spending $1.3 billion in transportation investments across the state, including $65 million to widen I-55 from Mississippi 463 to Gluckstadt. The project would widen the interstate from four to six lanes.
The proposal still must be approved by the Mississippi Legislature. It also includes funding for other transportation projects, including $10.3 million for interchange improvements in Warren County, $49.4 million to repave U.S. 49 from Bentonia to Yazoo City, and $55 million to widen Highway 25 from Grant’s Ferry Road to Mississippi 471.
Nearly $5 million more is being requested for wetlands mitigation at the Vicksburg River Megasite and Port Complex and $119,250 for “environmental due diligence” at the Wynndale Industrial Center in Hinds County.
About 61,000 motorists a day would be impacted by the allocation for Madison County, according to Mississippi Department of Transportation traffic counts. That’s how many vehicles travel daily between 463 and the Gluckstadt Road exit, MDOT’s website shows.
“From an economic development standpoint, infrastructure is always good. Roads and bridges are always good,” Deason said. “So, I’m very excited about the opportunity.”
