David Turner, developer of the Belhaven Town Center (BTC) in Jackson spoke to the Rotary Club of North Jackson at the club’s February 2 meeting. Turner has developed a number of residential neighborhoods in the Jackson Metro Area including Lost Rabbit and Fondren Green.
BTC had been Turner’s dream for over 9 years and it is finally coming to reality. He is working with Baptist Medical Center, The Greater Belhaven Foundation, and the Belhaven Improvement Association to bring the project to reality. The following photo shows the currently completed part of the project, which includes Campbells Donuts and Elvie’s Restaurant. The current work is to build a three-story mixed-use building with 12 one-bedroom studio apartments and retail or office space on the first floor. That part of the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. Earthwork is in progress as shown in the following photos:
BTC will also include repurposing of the abandoned Baptist Hospital Laundry into a craft brewery and some other retail venue yet to be determined, perhaps a bike shop. The project will include installing a landscaped open space in the front of the building. The following is a photo of the laundry building today:
Turner commented that the entire project, including the existing buildings, includes repurposing buildings and the installation of a camera-based security system linked to the City of Jackson’s city-wide camera system operated by the Jackson Police Department. In addition, the project includes constructing a dog-trot configured building to the west of Elvie's. To those not familiar with the dog-trot configuration, it has an open center hall between two rooms, one on either side. I recall going to one in North Louisiana on a hunting trip with my father when I was young.
We thank Turner for his presentation and for his dedication and commitment to our city. The following is a link to the meeting, including Turner’s presentation:
Turner is shown during his presentation in the following photograph with Club Member and Director Jenny Price who introduced him.
