Rising Spring project moving toward second phase

By Randy Bell

Progress is clearly visible on the property which Mississippi College and its partners are developing across from the university at the southwest corner of Highway 80 and Springridge Road. But the streets, curbs and gutters only scratch the surface of what’s actually been done at the site during the first phase of the Rising Spring project.

“A lot of what you don’t see, the sewer, the water, all the infrastructure that’s underground, that was probably one of the largest portions of it,” says Project Manager Paul Collins.
The landscape has changed, too.

“If you saw it before, it had these gigantic valleys and rolling hills,” Collins says. “And now that’s been smoothed out, and it’s starting to take shape.”

He says it was important to level the land.

“You can build a building on a hillside, but mostly the way we build buildings is on a slab which is on grade.”

Collins told the Board of Aldermen at its June 2 work session that phase one of Rising Spring is “substantially complete,” and they’re moving toward starting the second phase, which should begin this summer and be wrapped up next spring. Part of that work will involve more buried utilities.

“Entergy is putting the electrical underground along Highway 80,” he says. “Then, they’re going to do a loop through the project, feeding the project with electricity.”

Mississippi College Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer Laura Jackson says another focus as the project moves ahead will be finishing work on the development’s namesake, Robinson Spring, and the amenities around the spring.

“Phase two will also include the completion of the park, the amphitheater stage that will be built there and any of the sidewalks around it.”

Jackson says decisions will have to be made on certain other aspects of the construction, depending on how the bids come in.

“We know we have a finite amount of money, but until [the work] is priced, we don’t exactly know what it will cover. So, when we get the pricing back, I think we will have a menu of items. The review committee and, ultimately, the Board of Aldermen will have to decide how they want to allocate that last $8 million. There’s a little bit of money left over from the first $8 million. So, it’s $8 million and some change that we have to allocate to phase two.”

According to Jackson, information may be coming soon about some of the businesses which plan to locate in Rising Spring.

“We’re working out some details now on just who might be tenants on the property. I don’t want to get out ahead of any announcements to be made by the college or by our other partners. So, I hope it’ll be very soon.”

And she says it’s possible that some buildings could be going up on the site by early next year.

“I think that, once we get toward the end of the phase two construction, you will actually see some vertical construction coming out of the ground.”

For more information about the development, visit rising-spring.com.