The Capitol Art Lofts, an apartment complex in downtown Jackson, finished the last phase of its construction in January. The first phase of the construction, which centered on the complex's Lott Building, finished in November 2017, after which the Art Lofts began moving in its first tenants. The second building is called the Kerc Building.
For more information, visit capitolartlofts.com or find the business on Facebook.
Louisiana Developer Investing $10 Million in Downtown Jackson
Metairie, La.-based developer E.J. "Kip" Gibert, who owns commercial properties in the metro Jackson area and on the Mississippi coast, plans to invest $10 million in downtown Jackson as part of an effort to bring in new restaurants and jobs. Gibert, who purchased the Heritage Building at 401 E. Capitol St. along with three smaller buildings nearby in fall 2016, told the Mississippi Business Journal that he expects renovations on the buildings to be finished by the end of the year.
The Heritage Building, originally constructed as Jones Dry Goods in 1904, will receive new elevators, restrooms, heating and cooling systems, and a new roof. Of the three smaller buildings, which formerly housed Deville Camera and ASAP Printing, one will receive two additional floors to house apartments, and another will be remodeled to contain a two-story courtyard.
Trustmark Breaks Ground on New Fondren Office
Trustmark bank held a groundbreaking ceremony for its future Fondren branch at the corner of Old Canton Road and Duling Avenue on Tuesday, Feb. 13. The Fondren office is set to open in 2019.
For more information, call Trustmark Public Relations Coordinator Ashlee Reid at 601-208-2533 or areid@trustmark.com.
Children's Tower at UMMC
The University of Mississippi Medical Center hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for a new seven-story, 340,000-square-foot children's tower on Dec. 1, 2017. Children's of Mississippi, an umbrella organization that consists of Batson Children's Hospital and all UMMC pediatric care and outpatient clinics, joined with the Junior League of Jackson to start raising money for the building in April 2016. The $180-million facility will include a new neonatal-intensive-care unit with private rooms, additional surgical suites, pediatric-intensive-care unit rooms and an imaging center for children.
For more information, call 601-983-0199 or visit umc.edu.
Trade Mart Exhibit Hall
Cindy Hyde-Smith, commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, announced that construction of a new Mississippi Trade Mart exhibit hall will begin in spring 2018 and be finished by 2020.
Hyde-Smith said in January that the current Trade Mart, which was constructed in 1975, is outmoded and has a flat roof that leaks, and will therefore be razed and replaced with the new structure.
The new 105,000-square-foot Trade Mart, which will be more energy-efficient and feature WiFi and a new kitchen, will be attached to the east side of the Mississippi Coliseum. The current building will remain open during construction, which will begin after the Dixie National Rodeo and Livestock Show in February 2018.
La Brioche Opens Downtown
The Museum Cafe at the Mississippi Museum of Art has undergone a number of changes since the recent departure of Executive Chef Nick Wallace, beginning with the cafe reopening on Dec. 9, 2017. It and the Museum Store had temporarily shut down in October 2017 while the Mississippi Museum of Art prepared its bicentennial exhibition, "Picturing Mississippi: Land of Plenty, Pain, and Promise." Both were renovated during the shutdown.
On Feb. 8, the museum announced that La Brioche Patisserie would now operate the Museum Cafe as a second location. The original location of the family-owned, French-style bakery opened in Fondren Corner in 2014.
La Brioche opened for lunch at the museum on Friday, Feb. 16, and began serving breakfast on Saturday, Feb. 17. The early menu at the new La Brioche includes ham and cheese croissants, mini souffles, bacon and egg brioche, yogurt parfait and more. For lunch, La Brioche has sandwiches including turkey and brie, mufalettas, and prosciutto and mozzarella; turkey and provolone, or hummus and eggplant wraps; kale and salmon, spinach and beet, or arugula and prosciutto salads; and desserts such as petit fours, macarons, cheesecake bites, cookies, cream puffs, gelato, sorbet and more.
The museum location will also feature espresso and coffee throughout the day and will be open late on occasion for special museum events. La Brioche will handle all catering for breakfast and lunch events at the museum.
The bakery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The breakfast menu is available from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m., and lunch is from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Museum doors will open to the public at 8 a.m. to accommodate La Brioche's breakfast service; however, the galleries will remain closed until 10 a.m.
For more information, call 601-960-1515 or visit msmuseumart.org.
Community Bank's New HQ
Community Bank recently announced plans to build a new headquarters in Flowood. Louisiana-based Southern Lifestyle Development is constructing the Community Bank Headquarters building at Waterton, which will be part of a larger 230-acreage development with 560 single-family living spaces and 800,000 square feet of commercial space. The headquarters itself will be a four-story, 90,000-square-foot structure in the Waterton central square.
The building's second floor and half of the third floor will be tenant space. Community Bank's accounting, marketing and credit departments will be on the remainder of the third floor. The fourth floor will house Community Bank's executive offices as well as community rooms that can be divided into smaller meeting spaces.

Fondren recently began an overhaul as part of the Fondren Streetscape Project, in which developers will reconstruct the sidewalks throughout the Fondren Business District. It includes parts of Old Canton Road, North State Street, Fondren Place and Duling Avenue.
Among the renovations will be new sidewalks with curb ramps that meet current requirements in the Americans with Disabilities Act, and changes to traffic signals at intersections to improve pedestrian safety and accessibility. The district will also receive new landscaping and signage, bicycle racks, sidewalk accents, a new transit shelter and changes to the neighborhood's drainage system.
George Ewing, landscape architect for the City of Jackson, is the project manager for the renovations, and Jackson-based firm Neel-Schaffer Inc. is the design consultant.
Brookwood Country Club
Stratum Development Fund held an open house on Thursday, Dec. 28, for the newly renovated 12,500-square-foot clubhouse and event venue at Brookwood Country Club (5001 Forest Hill Road, Jackson), a local golf course, restaurant and event facility that closed in January 2015. The venue will reopen in sections over the course of 2018.
Brookwood's kitchen, bar and restaurant underwent renovations in January, and management expects that the driving range will be ready by spring this year. A workout facility and other amenities, such as tennis courts, a fishing pond and Brookwood's 18-hole golf course are also in the works.
For more information or to book an event, call 601-760-3661 or find Brookwood Country Club on Facebook.
Mississippi Children's Museum Satellite Location
The Mississippi Children's Museum is building a satellite location in Meridian. The new museum will be on the site of old Sears department store at 403 22nd Ave.
in Meridian.
The new MCM satellite location will have 20,000 square feet, with 9,500 square feet of exhibit space. The new location will have three main galleries focused on health and nutrition, literacy and STEM subjects, as well as cultural exhibits on eastern Mississippi history.
The Meridian MCM's developers contracted Wier Boerner Allin, a Jackson architectural firm that has designed and constructed locations such as Babalu Tapas & Tacos, The Iron Horse Grill and The Apothecary at Brent's Drugs, to design the new museum.
For more information, call 601-981-5469 or visit mschildrensmuseum.org.