Upscale townhomes planned for Parkway

RIDGELAND — A mixed-use development with almost 300 residential units in a live, work, dine and play atmoshpher is being proposed on the Highland Colony Parkway north of the Highland Colony Baptist Church near Lake Castle Road, city officials have said.

The project will be developed by Mattiace Properties, Inc, developer of The Renaissance. Their petition and application for conditional use describes the residential portion as “Residential Dwelling Units.”

The petition describes the development as “consistent with the growing national trend of live, work, dine and play projects with walkable features.”

Early steps for the residential portion of the new development proposed by Mattiace will go before the city Zoning Board tonight.

The hearing for a conditional use permit is set for Thursday, April 21 at 6 p.m. at Ridgeland City Hall.

Alderman-at-Large D.I. Smith said the development is still in its early stages and has not even gone before the Board of Alderman yet.

Tonight's hearing concerns Phase I of the project which Smith described as a mixed-use development like the Township.

Public Works Director Alan Hart said that there has been a degree of “misinformation” about the project.

“I think there is a lot of confusion about what this is and isn’t,” Hart said.

Phase one includes 280 units and the developers will have to start the process over for any additional residential units in Phase Two.

Smith said the development will feature offices, retail spaces and restaurants and possibly a grocery store. He said the developers would like to have residential space above some of the commercial spaces like currently exist at The Township.

“I would not call them apartments,” Smith said.”In fact, the word apartment is not used in the petition. It will be a conditional use for a residential portion of the development like we have at the Township.”

The developers petition and application for conditional use describes the residential portion as “Residential Dwelling Units.” Hart said the developers will use a rental model for the units.

It describes the development as “consistent with the growing national trend of live, work, dine and play projects with walkable features.”

Hart said the property is zoned MU-1 and allows for residential dwelling units. Hart said apartments are zoned R-5 and do not include a commercial component. 

To satisfy the conditional use, at least 50 percent of the first floor of these buildings must be a commercial space. Hart said not every building will have residential space.

The project is the first of a proposed three phases, according to the petition and application.  

Developers are targeting 2024 as a proposed opening date for phase one with the other phases opening in two-year intervals.