By Michael Clark
Published: Apr. 9, 2024 at 10:04 PM CDT
HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - Currently, construction is underway at what will eventually become the first food hall in the Hub City.
Calico Station, a mixed-use development from K Moye Land Design and Development, should be finished with the first phase by mid-summer.
“It’s a historic renovation,” said owner Ken Moye. “We’ve been working on it for a little over a year now. We started back January with some initial renovations and demolition and now we are getting into the heat of the construction.”
In addition to a food hall, the development will feature co-working areas, a private event space, a cafe, a rooftop restaurant, a daiquiri lounge and an outdoor pool.
“We think we are filling the gap of a lot of opportunity and activity that is missing downtown, so we think we are going to be a great asset to work together with all the other business owners and bring something to the table that is unique to invite people to downtown as a whole,” Moye said.
The building is nearly 100 years old and first started as a meat packing plant. It later was transformed into the Calico Mall for antique enthusiasts.
“That is one of the reasons we are preserving the name Calico Station because it was the Calico Mall previously so we kept that same feel going and we want to make sure we keep the traditions of the previous owner,” Moye said.
Similar to other downtown projects, like the Komp Building Lofts, Moye’s group applied for historic tax credits to help offset some of the costs.
“Tax credits are a very important part of this project,” Moye said. “It puts the equity part to make it more feasible, so you don’t have to bring as much capital. You don’t have to as much of a loan to give this project more opportunity to take a chance on some of the different concepts that we talked about. So that aspect is very vital to this project.”
Developers worked hard to preserve the original bricks, columns and beams throughout the building.
“We want to maintain a nostalgic feel of the building and preserve all of the historic qualities,” Moye said. “Bring attention to those from the window perspective, door perspective, our floors are going to be preserved to bring back the original wood floors in certain areas.”
Food hall concepts can be found in larger cities like New Orleans, Birmingham and Atlanta.
The idea is to allow restaurant owners a chance to work on a business concept without the overhead cost of a facility.
The Calico Station will feature a total of four vendors with a shared kitchen, cold storage and dry storage.
Once complete, the building is expected to feature a cafe with coffee, sandwiches and other light food items that differ from vendor options.
A co-working space, or business incubator, will be in the basem*nt of the building.
Moye also plans to offer a multi-floor event space to rent for special occasions like baby showers, office parties or other activities.
An elevator and a staircase will bring customers to the rooftop for access to an anchor restaurant and daiquiri bar.
Right now, Moye said Monica’s Caribbean Restaurant, which was previously located on U.S. 98, is set to be the rooftop restaurant.
“The daiquiri component is on the other side of the restaurant on the rooftop,” said Moye.
Finally, outside of the building, developers are working to add an outdoor pool and cabanas.
“One of our main components is an outdoor seating area that will be converted to a pool,” Moye said. “A pool amenity. So we will have a public pool. Membership only, people can get access to and have a cool environment in the downtown.”
Crews hope to be done with the first phase of construction in June with some operations ready in July.
“it couldn’t be done without a great team and a great working relationship with the guys that’s been on the Calico development team and the K Moye Land and Development team, and also our construction team so just want to give them a shout-out for all the great work they’ve done,” Moye said.
Moye said they are still looking for entrepreneurs to lease and join the team.
The property management team can be reached at 601-336-0564 or calico-station.com.
As other buildings downtown are acquired and developed, Moye knows there are no ceilings for Hattiesburg.
“There’s a lot of different projects going on from residential to commercial, restaurants, retail shops, so we think we are right on time for the growth and the potential of downtown Hattiesburg,” Moye said.
Want more WDAM 7 news in your inbox? Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
Copyright 2024 WDAM. All rights reserved.
