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This week we celebrated a major milestone in Natchez — the groundbreaking of a new vision for Trace Town Shopping Center and the beginning of what will soon be a $30 million plus new retail development that will include a Hobby Lobby and quite a number of other major brand retailers. This is big news for our city, and our region: the largest retail development in our corner of the state in four decades! And best of all — it means a few hundred more JOBS.

Credit for this outstanding achievement goes to one man, Natchezian Jimmy Smith — and we couldn’t be more grateful.

During my first two years as mayor I spent a good bit of time showing potential investors around Natchez, and every tour would end up at Trace Town. Looking at the decrepit condition of the once thriving retail center with its huge parking lot riddled with potholes, investor after investor failed to see the vision I saw — a great parcel of property well-located in an amazing city just beginning its historic comeback, what we now call the Natchez Renewal. We were in need of a Trace Town Renewal, but no one was biting.

Little did I know that the eventual investor would end up being someone from right here at home. When Jimmy Smith first told me what he was considering I got excited. His willingness to take on the project of bringing back Trace Town was an answered prayer. And we, the city immediately jumped in to help. The revisioning of this old shopping center is now full steam ahead. Old buildings are being torn down to be replaced with new ones. And the large pothole-riddled parking lot will soon get a major facelift!

Once a thriving retail center, Trace Town was a place where people from all parts of the Miss-Lou shopped and enjoyed life. But the advent of the Natchez Mall in the late 1970s began to slowly lure businesses away. In the years to follow, the closing of large employers like International Paper and Johns Manville brought about the end, and in the thirty years since, Trace Town has slowly become a dilapidated and sad version of its former self. And many simply gave up hope it would ever be anything again.

To commit funds to such a major project, especially in today’s economy, is no easy task. But Jimmy Smith, as I said at this week’s ground breaking, was like a hound dog with a brand new soup bone. He had a vision. And he never let go.

As with any large undertaking it takes a team. Several great partners have helped to get us here, and I must take a moment to thank them. When Mr. Smith shared his vision with us, we immediately put our heads together to find the strategies that would make it work.

To start with, we brought in our Environmental Consulting Engineer Trey Hess with PPM Consultants to see if our Brownfield Grant, obtained during our first year in office, could help with an assessment of environmental issues at the old shopping center to open paths to incentives to convert this old Brownfield into a “Greenfield” —  one that would flourish economically again. Mr. Hess was a huge help. In short order he connected the city and Jimmy Smith to a state program just created to clean up dilapidated and toxic property for the purposes of retail development, with new sales taxes going to assist with the project. This became a huge win and just the incentive Mr. Smith needed.

In addition Chandler Russ with Natchez Inc. began helping prepare the way for a TIF, Tax Increment Financing, that will further allow expected sales taxes to assist with the development of Trace Town. Together with Mr. Smith’s own personal investment, these two strategies will help ensure the new retail center succeeds.

As the final coup to make the deal come together, Mr. Smith secured a fantastic national partner, Noon Development, a successful retail development firm responsible for the creation of quite a number of successful projects throughout the south. Together, that’s a Dream Team and Natchez will be the grateful beneficiary!

It’s great to see what happens when people work together. As mayor, I look forward to working with our Board of Aldermen to complete a few more things needed for the development, and I am very grateful to our Director of Community Development James Johnston and my Executive Assistant Richard Burke for all of their behind-the-scenes help.

Lastly I end this column like I started — with gratitude. God has truly favored our city. Stay tuned for more good news. Just like the Trace Town Renewal, our Natchez Renewal train shows no sign of slowing down. Because Natchez Deserves More.

Dan M. Gibson is mayor of Natchez.