The New Southern Building

The New Southern Hotel was built in 1927 and was considered not only a showplace for downtown Jackson, but also the center of social life for the area. From the opening date until well into the 1970's, The New Southern Hotel hosted meetings, fundraisers, weddings, and major events. There are very few residents who lived in Jackson during that time that do not have fond memories of an event that took place within the walls of the grand hotel. Changing times and demographics made the downtown hotel obsolete and while other uses for the property were found, its former beauty had faded, and the lobby and mezzanine areas had fallen into disrepair.

The Crocker family purchased the property in 1967 and continued to operate the property as a hotel for several years. Times were hard downtown throughout the country during this time. Growth was quickly spreading to the suburbs as downtowns were losing their status of being the center of commerce for many cities. Jackson was no exception to the suburban sprawl. In 1978, the hotel's upper floors were converted to affordable housing for the elderly while the lobby and mezzanine levels continued to operate as commercial space.

Hal Crocker began his four-year labor of love - to resurrect the downtown landmark - and faced several challenges. The first was to have the building placed on the National Historic Register, which was accomplished in November of 2002. Crocker, as the general partner of the ownership group, began seeking investors in the restoration project. Just as things were starting to materialize, the tornado of 2003 seriously damaged the property. "I was working to get several groups on the same page. I needed to create design criteria that would meet with the National Historic Commission's requirements and satisfy HUD's mortgage loan division. At the same time, I needed to bring in additional investors, so it had to be a viable business venture. It was challenging, but I am very happy with the outcome. The city of Jackson and the downtown community have embraced the restoration and the public's response has been flattering." he said.

The 80,000-foot reconstruction project is complete; its current use is commercial on the 1st and 2nd floors and residential on the upper floors, with separate entrances and elevators for each. Crocker Construction is one of the first commercial tenants to occupy space at what is now called the New Southern Building.

 East Jackson Church of Christ

After the 2003 tornado, all that was standing of the East Jackson Church of Christ was part of the Family Life Center. The damage was estimated at $2.3 million. Crocker Construction negotiated a settlement with the insurance agency and set about to team build the 30,000 square-foot church. The project went from the concept and design stage to construction swiftly. Within 60 days of signing a commitment, the congregation was able to worship in the repaired and enlarged family life center. Ten months later, a new church, complete with a sanctuary with seating for 950, stands where the old church was destroyed. Senior project manager, Chris Rice, has been the team leader on three team build church projects in the last two years. "There's nothing more satisfying than standing in the middle of a building you've just completed and knowing your client is happy and excited to be moving in."

 The Federal Courthouse

On the night of May 4th, 2003 within hours of the devastation caused by the tornado, Crocker was meeting with the managing agent for the United States Federal Courthouse building. The roof was severely damaged, the windows blown out, and rain water was pouring into the building. It had sustained over 6 million dollars in damage. Before daylight, the next morning the Crocker Construction team was on site making temporary repairs to the roof, sealing windows and doors, and helping courthouse staff remove and protect documents and records. That same day Crocker was helping the owner make plans for the restoration of the courthouse, meeting with the insurance company representatives, and touring the building with an engineer to assess the building's structural integrity. Not only had the building sustained significant damage to its exterior, the majority of the interior would need to be stripped down to the bare concrete floor and metal stud framing and rebuilt. Within six months, the 130,000-square-foot courthouse was restored.

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