McComb officials have approved a lease agreement to allow the Pike School of Art-Mississippi to occupy the front half of the old city jail for 50 years at $1 per year, clearing the way for the organization to secure a grant that will pay for improvements.
City officials approved the lease agreement Thursday.
Pike School of Art officials initially approached the city about purchasing or leasing the facility long-term to secure funds to repair the building but suggested extending the terms of its existing 10-year lease. Any renovations would belong to the city.
PSA officials said they are considering improvements that will cost between $400,000 and $500,000, said President Calvin Phelps.
The Mississippi Arts Commission recently awarded it a $260,000 Building Fund for the Arts grant that will go toward paying for the improvements. PSA must provide a $175,000 match.
"Thanks for believing in downtown,” Selectman Matt Codding said. “Thanks for looking at revitalizing. Anyone trying to put a half a million dollars into downtown is, I think, aligned with the vision and goals of the city."
The grant requires PSA to complete the project by June 2024, but the city is not putting those same time restrictions on the improvements.
“If the city is giving us a little more time, that's gracious,” he said. “Construction we always know may run a little bit over. ... But our intention is to have the building open by 2024 and running."
Phelps said PSA is working with LOT/EK, a New York architecture firm that works on museum projects.
PSA will conduct a capital campaign to raise funds that will run through July 1, he said.
LOT/EK hopes to have plans completed for the renovation by April Phelps said, adding that construction should take place between June 1 and May 30, 2024.
