City effort to expand Fairpark district continues
TUPELO — With their eyes on further growth in downtown Tupelo, city officials are moving forward with the next step to see the Fairpark District expanded.
The Tupelo City Council voted unanimously to approve a resolution for planned expansion of the Fairpark urban renewal district, setting a public hearing on the matter for the first meeting of April, coincidently the same day as municipal election primaries.
'Back in 2023, we acquired 17 acres along Elizabeth Street…. Since that time, it has been the desire of the administration, and we've shared with council in the past, to include that area … in the urban renewal area,' Assistant City Attorney Stephen Reed said. 'There are several things this resolution does, but it will be brought up again at the April 1 meeting.'
As of now, the city owns the 16-acres south of Fairpark that it hopes to rehabilitate. It is located between the Canadian National Railway line and the BNSF line on Elizabeth Street downtown.
Reed said the Tupelo Planning Committee will draft a final recommendation for the district's future during its March meeting.
The city previously entered a contract with Tupelo-based firm Cook Coggin Engineers for engineering services related to the development project. Through the Tupelo Redevelopment Agency, the city hopes to market and sell the plot. This renewal designation affords the acreage certain local tax abatement benefits.
City officials previously mentioned there was a prospective buyer for the property. City Attorney Ben Logan said the city was in negotiations as of Wednesday but he could not give details.
Before Tuesday night's decision and before tapping Cook Coggin, the city entered a contract with Tripp Muldrow of Arnett Muldrow and Associates, for a master plan for the property, and a $4,500 contract with Cook Coggin Engineers, Inc., for environmental studies of the property. Muldrow assisted in the establishment of Fairpark decades ago. Ultimately, Logan said, the city will turn the land over to the TRA.
The TRA also owns multiple other plots in Fairpark, a 5-acre lot on Fairpark Drive, a little over 4 acres with some parcels adjacent to the 5-acre plot on Elizabeth Street, and another parcel just under an acre north of the two.
The Fairpark District was established in 1999 with 50 acres designated for urban renewal development by the TRA. At the time, the city took out $22.7 million in bonds to accomplish the goal.
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