Ridgeland rezones acres for industrial park development

RIDGELAND — City officials freed up more than 750 acres for development as an industrial park following a series of public hearings at Tuesday’s city board meeting.

Public Works Director Alan Hart said the property is a total of roughly 784 acres that will be ready for development as an industrial park on the southern end of Highland Colony Parkway. 

“There is still a lot of work to do but this gives us a foundation to work with,” Hart said.

City officials “worked very hard” with the Madison County Economic Development Authority to rezone the area as a Technical Industrial Park District or “TIP,” they said.

The 784 acres are made up of a number of parcels owned by several private landowners and are disparately zoned as a Mixed Use District (MU-1), Convenience Commercial District (C-3) and Family Residential District (R-1A). 

MCEDA has had an option to buy the property since March of 2021, according to MCEDA Executive Director Joey Deason. The property sits north of West County Line Road, just west of the Highland Colony Parkway.

The rezoning allows for technology companies, engineering and accounting firms, and call centers and eliminates certain uses that include high-traffic businesses like convenience stores, a use residents who spoke during the proceedings specifically objected to. 

“We think this is a great use for this property,” Deason said.

Mayor Gene F. McGee called the changes an “improvement” and said he hoped it would bring a “quality development” to that portion of the city.

“That property has just been sitting there for years,” McGee said.