This is a column appearing in the Commercial Appeal Sunday, June 25.

A good investment for DeSoto

June 25, 2006

This is the situation the developers of Riverbend Crossing find themselves in as they push toward turning the first shovel of dirt sometime this summer for the largest development ever proposed for DeSoto County.

In separate votes last week, county supervisors and Walls aldermen approved an incentives package that could reach $60 million, which will help California-based Phillips Development Co. pay for the massive infrastructure needed to make the project a reality.

Phillips also is seeking $57 million in incentives from the State of Mississippi. The developers said the state's signing on is critical. Those roads, sewers, drainage improvements, water projects and other enhancements are expected to cost about $165 million.

Unless you've been on a round trip to Mars, you probably have heard or read a great deal about Riverbend Crossing. DeSoto Appeal reporters, who were the first to tell DeSoto residents about the proposal, certainly have done their part to keep the public informed about the development. Phillips Development wants to create a city-sized community of 9,500 homes and 30,000 residents on about 4,500 acres (think as big as Shelby Farms) of flat, Mississippi Delta cotton fields. It would be on the west side of U.S. 61 from the Tunica County line to just south of Star Landing Road.

Plans include an MGM theme park, a major outdoor sporting goods retailer and other retail businesses, four golf courses and an RV park. There also will be about 600 acres of lakes. The $2.7 billion project would take about 15 years to build out.

So far, there has not been a lot of opposition to Riverbend Crossing. Walls aldermen voted 3-0 for the incentives. The supervisors voted 4-1, with Board of Supervisors president Jessie Medlin voting no. Medlin felt the developer wanted too much from county government.

A valid question in this process is: Why should government help a private developer build a community that is likely to turn a big profit for the developer? Here is the answer: That $60 million is an investment for the future growth and prosperity of DeSoto County.

It could also be a godsend for the west side of the county, which has missed the growth and development boom that is gushing on the county's east side. When casinos began opening in Tunica County in 1992, projections were that the land on both sides of the asphalt ribbon to the casinos, U.S. 61, would blossom with retail and residential developments. It has not happened.

And nothing probably is going to happen unless a project like Riverbend Crossing is built. It could be the spark that ignites other quality development on that side of DeSoto -- development that the county would not be asked to help pay for.

In their presentation to the Board of Supervisors last week, Phillips representatives forecast that the development would create 12,000 permanent jobs paying $340 million a year, 18,000 to 19,000 construction-phase jobs and $780 million a year in sales. They added that the county's tourism tax would raise enough money within Riverbend to wipe out the debt for the DeSoto Civic Center.

The developer also projects Riverbend would pump in about $30 million a year in new property tax revenues: $5.6 million for Walls, $9.4 million for the county and $15.1 million for the cash-strapped schools.

Pie in the sky? Sidney Shlenker-ish (remember the great expectations for The Pyramid) grandiosity? You never know. But these guys have a credible track record in creating similar massive developments. And there is a key thing to remember: Technically, this is not taking any money out of taxpayers' pockets.

The $60 million in local money will come through a tax increment financing (TIF) district on a planned $860 million commercial development. A TIF uses future tax revenues from a development to repay bonds that paid for infrastructure. No bonds will be issued until something is built.

All residential taxes will go to Walls and the county. Schools will get their full share. And under the development agreement, Walls and the county will get half the millage on commercial development.

If Riverbend Crossing lives up to its potential, that is not a bad investment for DeSoto and its residents. I hope the state sees it the same way. The potential financial benefits for state tax coffers are huge.

That, however, does not preclude elected and appointed officials in DeSoto County and Walls (which will annex the area) from continuing to ask tough questions as the development continues its journey through approval and construction phases.

Sixty million dollars, plus whatever millions the state contributes, is too much money to do otherwise.

Jerome Wright is citizens editor for The Commercial Appeal. Contact him at 529-5830 or wrightjer@commercialappeal.com.

About Jerome Wright Jerome Wright is a native Memphian, who began his newspaper career at The Commercial Appeal as a copy clerk in 1971 while still a student at Memphis State University. He has served in a variety of reporting and editing positions over the years. In the mid-1980s, he served as metro editor and assistant managing editor for Scripps newspapers in Evansville, Ind. He served on the committee that help create the DeSoto Appeal, first published in January 2000. In the December, he finished a three-year stint as DeSoto Appeal editor. He is now Citizens editor for The Commercial Appeal and DeSoto Appeal.