Can Downtown Jackson, MS return to former glory? New executive gives a roadmap to success

Liz Brister has been a proponent of Jackson in many ways over the years.

These days, she is looking for ways to help create a renaissance for downtown, as she has taken over as president of Downtown Jackson Partners. She replaces John Gomez, who left the same position last May after 19 years with the organization.

She comes into a job where Downtown Jackson has been stagnant for several years, but believes there is room for hope in the future.

That hope may have some standing.

Just this week, it was announced that New Jersey developer Kumar Bhavanasi, who owns 35 shopping developments throughout the nation, has purchased The Pinnacle Building and the old Deposit Guaranty Building in Downtown Jackson over the past five months, including the Pinnacle Building three weeks ago. Terms or the deals have not yet been disclosed.

Those and possibly more announcements to come have Brister brimming with belief in what can be for the area.

“We have to look forward to what this can be because downtowns across the country are changing,” she said. “It’s a whole new definition of what downtown is and what it means to a community. Downtowns are reinventing themselves as residential communities. Once we bring residential into our business district, then you start to see some of the amenities that can be so attractive and can’t really be replicated.”

That is part of what the Bhavanasi announcement was as the Deposit Guaranty Building will be dedicated to apartments, which would bring more people to live in the downtown area.

Some of this has already been going on as people like Andrew Mattiace have ventured into the residential game. He has added high-end living and a rooftop bar in Capital Towers and the Lamar Life Building.

“When we get more people living and working and playing downtown, that’s when the magic happens. That’s when we will really begin to see the downtown become vibrant and full of activity,” Brister said. “I have spent most of my adult life in Jackson and I have seen the positive and negative, but I know the opportunity is there for something different, something better than where we are today.”

How did Brister get to this point?

For the last 16 years, she worked at Entergy serving in multiple roles, including director of corporate social responsibility overseeing bill payment assistance programs for its four-state service area of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.  Brister also spent many years working in the nonprofit sector and remains actively engaged on nonprofit boards. She is currently the vice president of Keep Jackson Beautiful and past president of Fondren Renaissance Foundation.

“I have been involved in so many organizations over the years, and I have seen what organizing can bring to a community,” Brister said. “I love the work. I really do and I am passionate about it. I guess Downtown Jackson Partners saw some of those qualities and asked me to take on this huge challenge.”

There are opportunities for Jackson

Brister wants to help facilitate more people moving into the downtown area but also understands there needs to be more available places to live in order for that to happen.

“It is a national trend,” she said. “It is also true in our neighboring states of Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia. We know there is an opportunity here, not just to change our capital city and what it means but really to change the state and our population trend. We need a vibrant urban center to attract people to our state and to attract business. I believe in that and that is why I am here to do that.”

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Even with the big announcement about the Pinnacle and Deposit Guaranty Buildings this week, Brister believes there are more announcements on the way that could change the landscape of the city.

“The bottom line is we are going to have to create more occupancy spaces,” she said. “We have amazing architecture to do that. We have a built-in environment that is a treasure to this area and to the state. There are opportunities and that is our mission. “

She also recognizes there are challenges and that there are biases about downtown, whether it has to do with city management, crime, water or other things.

“We have many examples that there is proof that there is opportunity here for growth, for development to be the kind of city that many of us leave town to go and visit,” Brister said. “We want to be that place that we all see when go other places and we enjoy downtowns and the restaurants and all of the amenities that they have to offer.”

Brister is also bullish on the timeline that exciting things will happen sooner, rather than later for Downtown Jackson.

“There is more to come. I can say that,” she said.

Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at rreily@gannett.com or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.

This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: New Downtown Jackson MS leader sees a brighter business future

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