Work begins on Harbor Walk

Boat piers, boardwalk to be 1st step

By Nell Luter Floyd
nlfloyd@clarionledger.com

Special to The Clarion-Ledger An artist's rendering of the proposed Main Harbor development at the Ross Barnett Reservoir shows considerable change from what the area currently looks like. The $600 million development will include condominiums, offices, restaurants, shops and a hotel.

Construction on two new houseboat piers and a boardwalk at Main Harbor at Ross Barnett Reservoir is expected to get under way today.

The work will mark the first step in building Harbor Walk, an estimated $600 million development expected to draw tourists with condominiums, offices, a hotel, restaurants and shops.

John Burwell of Jackson, president of Main Harbor Development, bought the property in July 2004 for the development that is expected to take as long as 12 years to complete.

"Everybody has been hearing about it, but nobody has seen anything happening," Burwell said. "We've spent months in planning and getting ready to start."

Malouf Construction Co. of Madison is in charge of relocating houseboat piers from the main harbor to the south side of the development by the existing soccer fields, Burwell said.

Barbara Gauntt/The Clarion-Ledger "It's time people see this happening," said developer John Burwell of the Harbor Walk development at the Ross Barnett Reservoir. "Trees are being cleared along Harbor Drive for the parking garage."

The two piers will feature slips for 58 houseboats. Each pier will include a community deck that has restrooms, a place for garbage, a storage area and electrical and mechanical equipment.

Some larger boats from the existing A and B piers will move to the new piers. The main harbor's existing piers will be demolished in January, Burwell said.

Plans call for riprap to be removed on the south side of the development by the soccer fields and a boardwalk constructed in its place, Burwell said. A boardwalk eventually will be constructed around the entire harbor.

The new piers and boardwalk on the south side of the development should be in place by the middle of December, he said.

Staff map/The Clarion-Ledger

The city of Ridgeland will close Harbor Drive on Jan. 3, so grading and work on the foundation for condominiums and office buildings can start, Burwell said. By March or April, structural steel for the buildings should be in place, he said.

Construction to relocate Harbor Drive west of its current location and replace it with a lighted, four-lane boulevard similar to Highland Colony Parkway is scheduled March through September, he said.

The first construction phase at Harbor Walk includes 150,000 square feet of office space, 147 condominiums, the 200-room Valencia Hotel and fuel dock. Work should get under way in March and be completed by 2007.

Restaurants and boutiques will occupy the first floor of office buildings and condominiums, lending an urban feel to the development patterned after Santana Row in San Jose, Calif. Jackson developer Mike Peters, who is responsible for renovating Fondren Corner in Jackson, is in charge of retail, restaurant and office space, Burwell said.

Office space could rent for $24-$30 per square foot, he said. Condominiums will range from $250,000 for a 933-square-foot efficiency to $1.3 million for a 3,200-square-foot penthouse, he said.

Charlotte Smith, owner of Charlotte Smith Real Estate in Jackson, said she's had "at least a couple of hundred" condo inquiries.

"It's a unique concept, a condominium overlooking a large body of water," she said. "There's nothing else in this area to compare it to. I would equate it to living in the French Quarter and being able to walk to everything you need."

Burwell said financing for the development is from a $13.1 million tourism grant from the Mississippi Development Authority, tax increment financing from the city of Ridgeland and Madison County, condominium pre-sales, pre-leasing of office space and $15 million in personal equity from himself and George Bishop, a Mississippi native who lives in Houston.

Click here to check out Harborwalk's website.