One of the biggest announcements of the 2025 economic development year in Mississippi could come in the first quarter.
The project, which could be valued at more than $1 billion, is expected to take place in Rankin County, where 2025 is expected to have major developments throughout the year.
“We obviously can’t talk about the details, but we expect a huge announcement this year,” Rankin First Associate Director Regina Todd told the Clarion Ledger. “I think it could happen as soon as during the first quarter of the year.”
This comes on the heels of the announcement last week that Dallas-based Compass Datacenters, a multinational data center developer, is locating its next hyperscale data center campus in Meridian at a reported cost of $10 billion.
Last year, there was the announcement that Amazon Web Services will occupy two Madison County locations for a historic buildout for hyperscale development centers at a cost of $10 billion.
While Rankin County’s upcoming announcement won’t quite make the $10 billion mark, it will highlight yet another economic development milestone of more than $1 billion.
“You know one thing that drew me to want to work in Rankin County, which is where I am from, is that there is such a diverse industry base,” said Todd, who worked at the Mississippi Development Authority before making the switch to Rankin First. “Every community in Rankin County is thriving. It’s not just all in Brandon or all in Flowood. There’s different growth happening everywhere.”
In 2024, Rankin County had significant growth and finished the year with the lowest unemployment rate in the state of Mississippi.
It continues to hang its hat on expansion of the healthcare industry in the area, including at Mississippi Sports Medicine, Jackson Heart and others.
Historically 80% of new business in Rankin County comes from existing customers and making sure companies and businesses already in place have the ability to expand and grow.
“We have several industries and businesses that are continuing to expand in the county,” Todd said. “A lot of times those types of stories don’t get out there. Sometimes, they don’t even announce them because they don’t want competitors to know what they are doing.”
She mentioned expansion going on at Siemens in Richland for additional manufacturing space that will result in more than 100 new jobs in the upcoming year.
Multicraft International in Pelahatchie is expanding and is bringing on 35 new jobs in the near future.
Also, the Mississippi National Guard recently completed a $24 million intermodal repair facility in Rankin County.
In the last 18 months, there has also been the expansion of the healthcare industry, including at Mississippi Sports Medicine, Jackson Heart and others.
Exponential growth is expected along the East Metro Parkway, which runs from Lakeland Drive in Flowood to Interstate-20 in Pearl, which opened in December of 2023.
Quick decisions
“So, one thing we have been working on over the years is continuing to develop our industrial sites,” Todd said. “Time and costs are things that these prospects are looking at. They want to know how quickly they can come down. They want to know how quickly they can start building. We have to make sure all of the infrastructure is in place.”
Right now, Todd said the county is extending water and sewer to rail sites for a potential rail project in the near future that could lead to a manufacturing warehousing project as well.
She said the county has been able to acquire 200 acres of land for industrial projects, which would like to attract a distribution-type plant with a spec building in an industrial park in Rankin County.
“We are working, slowly but surely getting everything ready,” Todd said.
Ross Reily is a writer for the Clarion Ledger, part of the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at [email protected] or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter @GreenOkra1.
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