...Four South Mississippi counties now have a combined 5,714 acres of land that’s been
certified as “Project Ready” sites by Mississippi Power. And by the end of the year, two more
South Mississippi sites may be added to the list, pushing the total acreage to 6,651.
...The latest addition to the list of sites is the 623-acre Global Axis Industrial Park, adjacent to
U.S. 49 and Kansas City Southern Railroad, some 12 miles north of Interstate 10. The
certification was announced March 23 at the Great Southern Club in Gulfport.
...Global Axis, in north Harrison County, has sites ranging from 31 acres in a parcel east of the
railroad to 320 acres, the furthest parcel to the west. The site is 13 miles from Gulfport-Biloxi
International Airport and 18 miles from the deepwater Mississippi State Port at Gulfport.
...Established in 2008, Mississippi Power’s Project Ready program is designed to find and
prepare sites for development, including new manufacturing, warehouse/distribution facilities
and high technology industries. The concept is to identify sites, complete the drawn-out
preparatory work in advance and wind up with suitable sites when suitors call.
...What distinguishes Project Ready from many of the other site certification programs
elsewhere is that it utilizes a third party to set guidelines and determine when a site is ready.
Under a three-year contract, McCallum Sweeney, a premier site selection consulting firm from
Greenville, S.C., works with economic development agencies to identify land for development,
analyze suitability, propose facility layout, determine property ownership and costs and
provide an engineering estimate of development costs and schedule. It’s made possible through
the Mississippi Power Economic Development Trust.
...The Project Ready program has five site types: mega-sites, which require 1,200 contiguous
developable acres; large industrial of 250 developable acres; general industrial, 75 acres;
industrial park, 200 acres; and technology park, 200 acres.
...The first location to receive Project Ready certification was the 350-acre Howard
Technology Park in Ellisville in Jones County, north of Hattiesburg. It was certified Project
Ready in the industrial category in October 2008.
...Two more sites were added in March 2009. One was the 130-acre Key Brothers Aviation
Site in Meridian, in Lauderdale County, which was certified Project Ready in the general
industrial category in March 2009. Also in March 2009, the 400-acre George County Industrial
Park-Phase II in Lucedale was certified in the large industrial category.
...In August 2009, the 300-acre Jackson County Aviation Technology Park in Moss Point was
certified Project Ready in the industrial category, making it the first of Mississippi’s three
coastal counties to have a Project Ready site. The park, north of Interstate 10 and adjacent to
Trent Lott International Airport, is home to Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center.
...Three months later in November 2009, NASA’s Stennis Space Center Technology Park in
Hancock County was certified as Project Ready. It was the fifth location to receive
certification, but the first in the technology park category, the first federal facility and both the
oldest and, at 3,911 acres, by far the largest park to receive certification. Stennis Space Center
is 14,000 acres.
...Waiting in the wings are two more sites, both in Jackson County, that are moving towards
certification. One is a 730-acre site north of where Interstate 10 meets Franklin Creek Road,
not far from the state line with Alabama. The other is the Mississippi Export Railroad site on
Saracennia Road, a 207-acre site in Helena, northeast of the Trent Lott International Airport
and the Jackson County Aviation Technology Park. – David Tortorano
April 2011
certified as “Project Ready” sites by Mississippi Power. And by the end of the year, two more
South Mississippi sites may be added to the list, pushing the total acreage to 6,651.
...The latest addition to the list of sites is the 623-acre Global Axis Industrial Park, adjacent to
U.S. 49 and Kansas City Southern Railroad, some 12 miles north of Interstate 10. The
certification was announced March 23 at the Great Southern Club in Gulfport.
...Global Axis, in north Harrison County, has sites ranging from 31 acres in a parcel east of the
railroad to 320 acres, the furthest parcel to the west. The site is 13 miles from Gulfport-Biloxi
International Airport and 18 miles from the deepwater Mississippi State Port at Gulfport.
...Established in 2008, Mississippi Power’s Project Ready program is designed to find and
prepare sites for development, including new manufacturing, warehouse/distribution facilities
and high technology industries. The concept is to identify sites, complete the drawn-out
preparatory work in advance and wind up with suitable sites when suitors call.
...What distinguishes Project Ready from many of the other site certification programs
elsewhere is that it utilizes a third party to set guidelines and determine when a site is ready.
Under a three-year contract, McCallum Sweeney, a premier site selection consulting firm from
Greenville, S.C., works with economic development agencies to identify land for development,
analyze suitability, propose facility layout, determine property ownership and costs and
provide an engineering estimate of development costs and schedule. It’s made possible through
the Mississippi Power Economic Development Trust.
...The Project Ready program has five site types: mega-sites, which require 1,200 contiguous
developable acres; large industrial of 250 developable acres; general industrial, 75 acres;
industrial park, 200 acres; and technology park, 200 acres.
...The first location to receive Project Ready certification was the 350-acre Howard
Technology Park in Ellisville in Jones County, north of Hattiesburg. It was certified Project
Ready in the industrial category in October 2008.
...Two more sites were added in March 2009. One was the 130-acre Key Brothers Aviation
Site in Meridian, in Lauderdale County, which was certified Project Ready in the general
industrial category in March 2009. Also in March 2009, the 400-acre George County Industrial
Park-Phase II in Lucedale was certified in the large industrial category.
...In August 2009, the 300-acre Jackson County Aviation Technology Park in Moss Point was
certified Project Ready in the industrial category, making it the first of Mississippi’s three
coastal counties to have a Project Ready site. The park, north of Interstate 10 and adjacent to
Trent Lott International Airport, is home to Northrop Grumman Unmanned Systems Center.
...Three months later in November 2009, NASA’s Stennis Space Center Technology Park in
Hancock County was certified as Project Ready. It was the fifth location to receive
certification, but the first in the technology park category, the first federal facility and both the
oldest and, at 3,911 acres, by far the largest park to receive certification. Stennis Space Center
is 14,000 acres.
...Waiting in the wings are two more sites, both in Jackson County, that are moving towards
certification. One is a 730-acre site north of where Interstate 10 meets Franklin Creek Road,
not far from the state line with Alabama. The other is the Mississippi Export Railroad site on
Saracennia Road, a 207-acre site in Helena, northeast of the Trent Lott International Airport
and the Jackson County Aviation Technology Park. – David Tortorano
April 2011
Economic development
"Project Ready" acreage keeps rising
"Project Ready" acreage keeps rising
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