The Mill at Vicksburg plans to host four outdoor concerts next summer in the courtyard of its property – if it wins Village Council approval of an “event plan” in November. It calls the concerts a test to see if the renovated site can profitably host an event drawing an audience of close to 10,000, arriving in as many as 2,500 cars.
The Vicksburg Village Council is scheduled to discuss the matter Nov. 2. The Mill Group has said the Council’s approval of the plan is required before it can plan the concerts in earnest. Without that approval, the Mill Group said in a prepared statement, the concerts will not happen.
The Village Council in 2018 in an agreement with the Mill Group approved the concept of concerts and other uses at the mill site as part of a Planned Unit Development, subject to working out details including traffic, parking, zoning, security and noise.
The Mill Group proposes to use the Vicksburg high school-middle school campus to park approximately 1,700 cars and to compensate the school district for the use. The Board of Education will consider the request at a Nov. 9 meeting.
The Mill site on W Avenue will provide the remaining spaces for concert-goers, and the school district is also being asked to park cars for staff on the Sunset Elementary grounds.
Superintendent Keevin O’Neill said in an email the board discussed the parking agreement recently. “No action was taken and the board presented the group with some questions, potential wants, etc. The attorney representing the Mill will be presenting a new proposed agreement with VCS in the near future.“
The Mill Group’s planning is complex and appears labor-intensive. It proposes to make two-way W Avenue one-way when a concert is scheduled, using one lane, barricaded from the other, for pedestrians walking less than a mile from the school property to the mill. Concert-goers will pay for parking in one of the areas when they order tickets for an event.
In the prepared statement, the Mill Group said November approval is needed from the village to meet deadlines and scheduling requirements of national promoters and performing artists that have expressed interest in coming to Vicksburg next summer.
Village Manager Jim Mallery said the village is looking at the plan from several viewpoints. “We have attorneys looking at engineering, zoning administration, traffic proposals – each gives their input, their advice to the Village Council.“
“I think we’re gaining a better understanding, especially the potential impact on the village and its infrastructure,” Mallery added. “It could have a very positive impact economically on the village. What’s needed is to safely get people to parking. We want to be sure it can be done with safety, without a negative impact.”
In its statement, the Mill Group said concerts will feature some of the nation’s most well-known artists performing in the courtyard between the east and west buildings on the Mill campus, southwest of downtown Vicksburg. Concert dates and performers will be announced following approval from the Village Council.
The 2018 PUD agreement, a contract between a property developer and the local municipality, allows the Mill Group to hold outdoor concerts. “The current Event Plan review and approval process addresses how those events will operate, including parking, traffic, and public safety,” the group’s prepared statement said. The event plan limits time and sound levels from the concerts: All activity must cease by 11 p.m. after a concert, and sound levels, monitored at property lines, must be no louder than 80 decibels, with a fine to be paid to the village if the levels are exceeded.
Vicksburg native Chris Moore, the group’s founder, is behind the concert concept. To date, the statement said, Moore has invested more than $54 million of his own money in historic building restoration projects and establishing local businesses, museums, and cultural programs in Vicksburg.
The concert series marks the first chapter of the next century for the Mill, the group noted, “and, more practically, tests whether the Mill venue and Village can draw visitors from outside the region.” Redevelopment on the site is expected to include a brewery, hotel, shops, event spaces and a museum for Moore’s collection of bar and brewery memorabilia.
The Mill Group has indicated that if the site and the plans can deal with 9,999 spectators, it will consider how it can handle larger numbers.
“The Summer Concert Series does not replace the long-term vision for The Mill,” Moore said. “Opening The Mill to the public has been the goal from the beginning, and that has not changed. The Summer Concert Series is simply the first opportunity to welcome people back to the site. As events bring visitors to Vicksburg, they build the commercial foundation that lets The Mill Group keep investing in the spaces inside The Mill. Events at The Mill will bring commerce to the whole village, not just one property.”
The Mill Group has released an on-line FAQ, a Frequently Asked Questions document, to address questions about the events, with much of it addressing parking. It can be found at https://vicksburgmill.com/summer-concerts/. The Village has also placed some information about the mill on its website, https://vicksburgvillagemi.documents-on-demand.com/?l=5fa29c7c91cdf111a4b9000c29a59557.
The village web site originally showed that the Mill Group, which recently was recently named as the buyer of the village-owned Angels Crossing golf course, had proposed to use part of the course for parking more than 1,000 cars for large events. That would have required closing part of the course, counter to the purchase agreement. The village has since cancelled the sale.
