On April 19, the Hattiesburg City Council unanimously voted to approve requests to progress plans for the District at Midtown, a development set to take over the empty lot on Hardy Street where Elam Arms dormitory stood until 2013.
Hattiesburg developer Rob Tatum filed the request, intending to change some of the zoning code and allow plans for building to move forward, according to the City Council.
The perimeter of the District at Midtown is defined by Hardy Street, South 31st Avenue, South 30th Avenue and Chevy Chase Drive.
“I think it makes major steps in helping us revitalize and regrow Hattiesburg,” said Kim Bradley, Hattiesburg City Council president.
Plans for developing the 6.9-acre lot into the District at Midtown include retail stores, restaurants and a Hotel Indigo.
Hotel Indigo, an international boutique hotel chain with locations across North America, China, Europe and the United Kingdom, creates each of its
hotels to reflect local culture. The Hattiesburg location will be the first in Mississippi.
The hotel will have 100 rooms available and will be located on the corner of Hardy Street and South 31st Avenue.
Tatum told WDAM that the mixed-use development will provide a boost for the local economy, creating nearly 300 jobs.
“We use all of our local people, local architects, local developers – that was big for us,” Tatum said.
The District at Midtown is part of a larger multi-phase project aiming to reinvent Midtown Hattiesburg and “create a walkable, workable, livable mixed-use community in concert with the adjacent neighborhoods,” according to the project’s web page.
The Midtown Hattiesburg Master Plan is funded by a sustainable community grant from the federal government combined with matched contributions from Hattiesburg’s major employers, such as Forrest General, Hattiesburg Clinic and Southern Miss.
The next steps in the development project are to purchase the lot from the university in May and begin construction in June.
The retail space, to be located on either side of South 31st, will see completion and open by early 2017, with the opening of Hotel Indigo to follow.
For more information on the project and development plans, visit Midtown in Motion’s website at midtowninmotion.org.
