The Mississippi Main Street Association (MMSA) has received funding from the USDA Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI) to implement the Mississippi Real Estate Redevelopment Game Plan project in 18 Designated Main Street communities.

MMSA will provide technical assistance and capacity building for 18 Designated Main Street communities focused on developing a streamlined approach for evaluating Main Street districts’ potential for key property redevelopment. Site visits for this project will occur from March 2024 – September 2024.

Participating communities include Cleveland, Columbia, Crystal Springs, Hattiesburg, Kosciusko, Leake County, Louisville, Meridian, Moss Point, Natchez, New Albany, Gulfport, Ripley, Starkville, Tunica, Vicksburg, Water Valley, and Woodville.

“Redeveloping under-used or vacant properties is a crucial step in downtown revitalization,” said Jim Miller, MMSA Executive Director. “The RCDI Real Estate Redevelopment Game Plan project will provide each of the participating communities with customized information to identify and redevelop key properties in their downtown districts.”

At the end of each site visit, participating communities will be provided with current and projected market data, including demographic trends and retail leakage, an interactive community engagement exercise, a digital briefing with recommendations of strategies to improve the real estate conditions in the district, and customized construction and operating pro formas for up to four properties.

MMSA will work with nationally recognized downtown real estate and economic development firm Place + Main Advisors, led by Joe Borgstrom.