Summary: Michael Grey Jones, AIA, LEED-AP, is the president of AIA Mississippi, a partner at Mississippi-based JBHM Architects, and a strong advocate of AIA members getting involved with their communities. On May 7, he joined an eclectic gathering of people—who shared a common goal—including Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, the Amir of Qatar, Boys & Girls Clubs executives, and Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts. Their shared purpose: a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open a new Boys & Girls Club to replace one destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Jones and his firm designed the new $5 million, 28,000-square-foot facility for the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast, located in Pass Christian, Miss., which happens to be Roberts’ hometown. In fact, her mother was instrumental in establishing the original Boys & Girls Club there, and the Good Morning America anchor remains active with the local school district.
“Robin Roberts has been a good friend to the Pass Christian school district and to the Boys & Girls Club,” Jones says. As a ribbon-cutting surprise, Roberts learned that the gymnasium will be named for her family.
Plans began in 2006 to rebuild the facility, which is sited adjacent to a daycare center and K-8 campus. Construction on all the projects cost a combined $36 million. Donations came from as far away as Qatar, with Amir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani providing more than $100 million in hurricane relief funds, $5 million of which went to the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast. In addition, Mississippi Power CEO Anthony Topazi co-chaired a capital campaign that raised $500,000 in community contributions. The Disney Corporation contributed an additional $1 million.
The Pass Christian school district provided land for the facility. The Army Corps of Engineers provided trailers for interim classroom space while the site was cleared and developed.
To date, the Boys & Girls Clubs has raised an additional $13.2 million in donations to build three other facilities on the Gulf Coast.
Community improvement is a win-win
The Boys & Girls Club provides a place for youth to go when they have free time, and the various programs and activities give them constructive ways to channel their energy.
Jones declares the site a “win-win” for both the club and school. “Students can use the Boys & Girls Club gymnasium during the day, and the school district does not need to bus the children to the Boys & Girls Club after school. This saves money on transportation, and the kids would be home by themselves if they didn’t have a place to go after school.”
The facility features a computer room, a game room with a crafts area, a gourmet kitchen, and an art room. Jones says the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast asked for a non-traditional design. “They had the idea that it is a place of organized chaos but wanted the children to be organized while learning and having fun,” he says. “We tried to do that in the design.”
Jones says projects such as the Boys & Girls Club are opportunities for AIA members to show leadership in their communities.
“I think it is very important that our profession show leadership,” Jones says. “We have the talent needed in so many communities. Architects have the skill to envision what a place could be, and the strategy for making it happen. That skill is vital to the progress of communities. If they have an architect in their corner, then the community has an advantage. The Boys & Girls Clubs has been a great project for us.”
--AIArchitect, Volume 16, May 15, 2009
PASS CHRISTIAN — Excited young faces here were beamed across the nation Thursday as “Good Morning America” broadcast the grand opening of a gleaming new $5.5 million Boys & Girls Club.
Host Robin Roberts returned to her hometown of Pass Christian with cameras, microphones and assorted broadcast paraphernalia. As dawn broke around the small harbor town, she interviewed Gov. Haley Barbour, flanked by many of the 150 youngsters the Pass Christian club serves each day.
Entertainment included a dance team and drummers from the Boys & Girls Club of Biloxi.
The 28,000-square-foot facility, located at the corner of Church Avenue and Second Street, stands shoulder to shoulder with a new, K-8 school. The futuristic club building was built with a grant from the Middle Eastern country of Qatar.
“It’s a perfect setup for us,” said Sam Burke, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast.
The ribbon cutting and opening ceremonies were attended by an estimated 450 people. Many more came throughout the day to take tours of the new building. The club includes kitchen facilities, a gymnasium, offices, classrooms and activity spaces.
“We had this terrific grant that allowed us to do it first class,” said Anthony Topazi, CEO of Mississippi Power and a leader of the Boys & Girls Clubs capital campaign.
Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on Boys & Girls Clubs across the Coast in 2005. The former Pass Christian Club was destroyed, and has since been headquartered at DeLisle Elementary School until the new building was completed.
Although Qatar provided funds for the Pass Christian facility, the clubs have been raising money for clubs in Gulfport, D’Iberville and Bay St. Louis. The clubs have just received a $350,000 gift from Hancock Bank and the Leo Seal family.
About $13.2 million of a $15 million goal has been raised, Topazi said.
The money will be used to build the new clubs in Gulfport and D’Iberville, and to renovate the old Valena C. Jones School for the Bay St. Louis club.
“At this point, we can go and start construction on the other facilities. Those are in the bid award process now,” Topazi said.
Michael Grey Jones, an architect who worked on the new building, said the club and its relationships with the school system and the community are “a great concept in itself.” The project was an architect’s delight, he added, “They let us do our job and let us dream.”
Burke said the club will be open all day on weekdays, and students from the Pass Christian public schools will be using the gymnasium. “It’s a shared-space environment, which is very unusual for a Boys & Girls Club,” he said.
Following her broadcast, Roberts said moving a live television show to Mississippi is a task, but well worth it.
“It’s not easy. It takes a village,” she said.
“But I have to say, every time I’ve asked ‘Good Morning America’ to come to Mississippi, it has happened.”
How many times has that occurred?
“I’ve lost count,” she said.
--Sun Herald, May 7, 2009
JBHM gives employees all the credit Group has an eclectic portfolio, from cafeterias to correctional facilities “JBHM Architects is the top architectural firm in the State of Mississippi,” said Michelle Hawkins, director of JBHM's Interior Design Group. “As a full-service architectural firm, we are able to provide the client with not just architectural services, but also support services including land planning, interior design, construction administration, marketing and graphic design, any service needed to provide our clients with the best project for their vision.”
Those visions have given JBHM an eclectic portfolio, everything from cafeterias to correctional facilities. If one takes a car ride across the state, one won't travel far without catching glimpses of some of its handiwork: the Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks in Jackson; the First United Methodist Church in Tupelo; Cain Hall at Hinds Community College in Raymond; Kia Automotive in Starkville, just to name a few.
“The diversity of project types provide an interesting mix that encourages creativity and keeps things fresh,” said Hawkins.
The award-winning firm could not have accomplished 35 years of this without the dedication and passion of its team members, a committed crew of registered architects, construction inspectors, landscape architects and designers, project managers and many other disciplines.
“At JBHM, you can not only find some of the best people to work with as far as personality wise, but you can find a staff who all enjoy working and being together,” said communications coordinator Lauren Denham. “Most people spend 40 hours a week working. I could not think of a more pleasant place to work than JBHM.”
Other JBHM employees are quick to chime in.
“We have great people and a comfortable work environment with the potential for growth. When problems arise, we are quick to respond to those issues and keep the communication open and honest,” said graphic designer Matt Broome.
“JBHM is a progressive company and a leader in our field,” added corporate strategist Terri Johnston.
“Everyone who works here is very qualified,” said associate Chip Jones. “Our office has an open layout, which encourages a synergetic atmosphere. Everyone here is unique in their own talent, which allows JBHM to utilize a broad, experienced design team to meet the needs of each client.”
JBHM has an impressive concept of time. While its staff works feverishly today bringing bold, new ideas to life and carrying them forward from the drawing board all the way to the groundbreaking ceremonies, the firm also has a healthy respect for the past and the future of architecture. It assists with historic preservation and have restored many downtowns throughout Mississippi to their period architecture not forgetting to combine that with today’s amenities — something old, something new.
JBHM does all of this while managing to stay one step ahead of emerging trends in its industry. “We offer a great opportunity for young intern architects to get a good foundation established,” said Ryan Ashford, an associate and senior project manager.
“JBHM has provided each office with a thorough amount of study materials related to continuing education and license training,” added Ashford. “They also paid for me to attend an ARE Structures seminar which was very helpful.”
JBHM even remains on the cutting edge of green development.
“With the environmental movement,” Michelle Hawkins said, “JBHM Architects strive to provide green architecture where applicable while keeping the client's end goal and budget in mind. Many staff members are LEED accredited or working towards that accreditation.”
--Mississippi Business Journal, March 30-April 5, 2009
LONG BEACH — The city took its biggest step so far in the recovery from Hurricane Katrina when officials broke ground Thursday on a new City Hall.
The two-story, 15,500-square-foot building will be located at the corner of Jeff Davis Avenue and Second Street, the same spot of the former building.
“Today is a day we’ve looked forward to since the wind stopped blowing after Katrina,” Mayor Billy Skellie said.
The monster storm caused significant water and wind damage to the three-building complex, and the city received money from Community Development Block Grant funds to rebuild. Since the storm, city employees have been working in trailers next to the fire station on Klondyke Road.
The new City Hall will cost $4.4 million and will be ready in about a year.
About 100 people gathered for Thursday’s ceremony, including city, county and state officials. The Long Beach High School concert choir performed before the groundbreaking.
Skellie said he wants City Hall to be the anchor for downtown Long Beach and hopes it will draw other businesses to that part of town.
The building was designed by JBHM Architects, and Starks Contracting Company is constructing the complex.
It will house the water department, building code and zoning offices, city clerk and city administrative offices, including the mayor’s office, civil service commission and city court.
The city also has other ongoing projects important to its recovery from Katrina. J. Levens Builders is working on Jeff Davis, repairing the street, putting in curbs and sidewalks and burying utilities.
Last week, the city broke ground on a project to install water and sewer lines on 28th Street. The $4.1-million project is the first for the Harrison County Regional Water District. The $4.1 million project is funded by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Skellie said Thursday the city likely will break ground in a couple of months on a new fire station on Second Street downtown.
--The Sun Herald, March 20, 2009
There are few more positive, audacious statements that any community can make about its future than the construction of new public school facilities - particularly when that facility is the school district's largest construction project in the city's history.
The people of Jackson and the Jackson Public Schools made that kind of bold, forward-looking statement on Thursday during groundbreaking ceremonies for the new $27.9 million Gladys Noel Bates Elementary and Thomas Cardozo Middle School complex on McDowell Road Extension.
The elementary school will have an enrollment capacity of 550 students, and the middle school will have an enrollment capacity of 650 students.
The elementary school honors Gladys Noel Bates and the middle school is built in memory of Thomas Cardozo. Both are Mississippi civil rights pioneers.
The new Bates/Cardozo complex is the first new public school built in the city in more than 20 years.
JPS has built "replacement" schools (elementary schools at McWillie, Van Winkle and Pecan Park and the Forest Hill High School), but there's been no "new" school built since Northwest Jackson Middle School in 1988.
A JPS spokesman said the two-school complex will alleviate overcrowding at current Jackson schools, including Timberlawn, Woodville Heights and Oak Forest elementaries and Siwell Middle School, and will accommodate the families moving into new housing developments in south Jackson.
The project is funded by the 2006 $150 million JPS school bond referendum, the largest ever passed in Mississippi. The Bates/Cardozo complex also is the second largest K-12 school construction project in the state.
JBHM Architects designed the complex and Evan Johnson & Sons Construction, Inc., was awarded the construction contract for the complex that will occupy 165,068 square feet built on 47 acres. The anticipated completion date is June 2010.
While the Bates/Cardozo complex is impressive in its own right, the best news is that even more investment in the future of quality community public school in Jackson is under way as well.
JPS confirmed that the referendum is currently funding construction of new classroom additions at Wilkins, Marshall, North Jackson, McLeod and Casey elementaries and for construction of new classroom wings and an athletic field house at Forest Hill High School. In the near future, JPS expects to announce dates for groundbreakings for the new Henry J. Kirksey Middle School and the replacement school for Peeples Middle.
From downtown redevelopment to growth at the state's only truly urban university to continued expansions of the city's government and medical centers, Jackson's shaking off years of decline and boldly looking forward. There are problems, yes, and work remains to be done on myriad fronts.
But communities that are declining aren't communities that are spending $150 million in bond referendum funding from the taxpayers to build new and better public schools. These new school construction projects should be a point of significant civic and community pride in Mississippi's capital city.
- Clarion-Ledger, March 2, 2009
The recent American Institute of Architects/Mississippi Design Awards honored several projects by firms in the state for bold moves and innovative solutions.
The Sambo Mockbee Award, voted by the AIA/Mississippi membership, was awarded to the firm JBHM in Tupelo for the Hematology and Oncology Associates in Bridgepoint in Tupelo.
Architects faced a challenge that's a common dilemma across the country: a big box building, the space leftover when a large retailer exits a property. In Tupelo, the building was originally a Food World.
"One of the problems you have with a big box is that you don't have any windows," architect Michael Grey Jones said. "Getting natural light in the building is important for people. ... So in our design approach, we sacrificed square footage and cut a couple of bays out of the building to allow an interior courtyard ... so we could let light in and let views out."
The vast parking lot was another dilemma. They angled the approach to the entrance, giving a facade of building depth, and added more than 74,000 square feet of landscaping.
"We feel like we created a kind of buffer area in front of the building where people weren't just coming to a parking lot. It was a place for people to sit and contemplate."
- Clarion-Ledger, August 14, 2008
The Long Beach Board of Aldermen voted unanimously Tuesday night to move forward with plans to build a new City Hall and fire station.
Glen Currie, director of Gulf Coast operations for JBHM Architects, presented drawings of both buildings to Mayor Billy Skellie and the board.
City Hall will be rebuilt at its original location on Jeff Davis Avenue; it will be a two-story building with white columns. The drawing showed red brick, but Currie said they could discuss different colors.
"With all the goals for a walkable community, we felt comfortable with a traditional Coast building," he said. "It's pretty simple design, but we think it will work well."
The new City Hall, at 10,000 square feet, will cost about $4.4 million. The city will get a grant from the Community Development Block Grant fund. Currie said he hopes to also get money for impact-resistant windows and shutters.
The building will contain all city offices, including the water department, zoning and a board room. It also will house the municipal court.
The drawings for the two-story fire station on 2nd Street aren't as far along but Currie said construction on the $1.1 million building likely will begin at the same time as City Hall, in October or November.
The fire station also will be paid for with CDBG funds.
- SunHerald, July 2, 2008
OCEAN SPRINGS — The staff of JBHM Architects will travel to Ocean Springs on May 28 for a three-day, annual firm retreat: JBHM Summit-Celebrating Success.
The title for the retreat comes from the firm's focus to celebrate the success they help their clients achieve through good design.
Each year staff members travel to a select city and gather for a couple of days of team building exercises and meetings designed to improve knowledge and performance. This year JBHM will meet at Gulf Hills Hotel & Conference Center in Ocean Springs.
"We feel it's important to take time out for staff bonding and development, especially when you have staff spread throughout Mississippi and into Tennessee," said Jack Ballard, AIA, principal in JBHM's Biloxi office. "This year our focus is Celebrating Success because we know we are only successful as a firm when we make our clients lives a little easier as a result of our design, whether it helps them to better serve their clients or employees or both."
"Our staff is excited to come to the Coast this year," said Glenn Currie, AIA, principal in JBHM's Biloxi office. "We relocated our South Mississippi to Biloxi in 2006, and, as a native of the Coast, I am pleased to share the wonderful food and culture that exists here with all the members of our firm."
- Mississippi Press, May 18, 2008
COLUMBUS - A 51,000-square-foot supermarket facility's conversion into a cancer treatment center has earned American Glass Co. its fourth merit award from the Mississippi Associated Building Contractors.
American Glass received the award for The Hope Center, located on North Gloster Street in Tupelo. Gov. Haley Barbour was the guest speaker for the Nov. 2 awards program.
The company has received three additional awards for different projects within a two-year period.
American Glass officials thanked the architectural firm of JBHM Architects and the general contracting company of Sanderson Construction of Amory with project manager Tony Carroll directing the renovations.
American Glass Co. President/Estimator and Project Manager John K. Nuesch credited his employee's efforts as a team for producing one of the area's most modern architectural designs.
- Commercial Dispatch, December 20, 2007
FLOWOOD - On Friday, December 7, Jackson Preparatory School held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new Dining Commons, a multi-functional structure with a spacious student and faculty dining area, private dining and meeting room and expanded kitchen and serving facilities.
This building will host banquets for Prep's many athletic teams, alumni events and prospective student events. In addition, the Dining Commons will feature an exterior plaza where students can enjoy outdoor events and entertainment.
This building will visually connect each of the interior campus plaza areas. The plan for this transformation was designed by JBHM Architects to incorporate elements that naturally bring one's focus to the center of student activity, creating a welcoming atmosphere for student fellowship.
- Rankin County News, December 19, 2007
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