A portion of the Sportsplex land in south Clarksdale has been rezoned to residential as the city takes the first step toward filling up the property.
The Clarksdale Mayor and City Council voted unanimously to rezone a section of the $50 million sports and recreational complex from C-4 (commercial) to R-12 (residential). This was the first major move on the project since the city Quality of Life Commis-sion, created to oversee the project, agreed this spring to purchase 76.12 acres along Highway 61. The property is owned by Hopson-Nance, LLC., which is near the Sunbelt Industrial Park.
Mayor Chuck Espy said this part of the project is for 50 homes and 300 are planned for the entire development.
“This is not low-income housing,” said Espy. “These are new homes for working class people that will be in the $165,000 to $200,000 price range.”
Espy added the project will bring middle class families to Clarksdale and help turn the tide on a declining city population. Clarksdale saw its population fall by about 2,000 between 2016 and 2018.
Espy also stressed that money from the recent $5 million bond referendum will not be used in the project.
“It is impossible to cross those funds,” said Espy. “We have bond underwriters that will not allow that to happen. What the people voted on, they will get.”
Board of Mayors and Commissioners voted unanimously in March to create an urban renewal agency that will oversee the project.
The P3 Group Inc., a development consultant firm headed by Dwan Brown, has been hired by the city to manage the project.
The grand scheme of the project will include a 120-room hotel, a 700-seat conference center, water park, five baseball and softball fields and a small two megawatt solar farm.
Espy said last week Piggly Wiggly grocery is still dedicated to building a new store in the development. The development is also seeking to incorporate other retail businesses into the project.
Espy said the city is awaiting the harvest of cotton on the property and will begin infrastructure improvements for the housing development immediately after that.
Espy would not give a timeline for other development.
Espy said at this point, not one penny has been spent by the city on the project.
Clarksdale city attorney Melvin Miller said the project will be financed with urban renewal bonds.
Espy said private investors are also being sought for the project.
This private investment group will administer 30-year leases and assume complete responsibility for operating and maintaining the project.
State and federal incentives will also be sought to cover a portion of the $50 million development cost of the project.
The Quality of Life Commission formed to oversee development is slated to meet Sept. 17. The QLC is a five member board appointed by the city council and the mayor to direct the project.
The complex will be called the Corey L. Moore Sports and Recreation Complex, in honor of Corey Lenard Moore, who helped to form the Boys and Girls Club in Clarksdale.
The development of the Sportplex will pour an estimated $70 million dollars into the local economy, employ up to 875 people during the construction phase and create 190 permanent and part-time jobs.
The Sportplex is to be located on the western side of the Sunbelt Industrial Park, off South Desoto Avenue behind the old Clarksdale/Coahoma County Chamber of Commerce now occupied by People Shores.
