[4/16/04]The new director of the Mississippi Development Authority says the city’s initiative to redevelop downtown Vicksburg has moved the city ahead of many others in the state.

“In the larger cities, you guys are ahead of everybody,” said Leland Speed, executive director of MDA.

Speed met with city and community leaders here Thursday to tour the city and discuss future development. He was appointed by Gov. Haley Barbour in January to head the state’s economic development agencies, which oversee $170 million in development funding.

“This is a real treat for me,” Speed said. “I’ve been wanting to come over here since before I got this job because I’m a downtown nut and I’ve been hearing a lot about what you guys are doing over here.”

Speed said that communities such as Vicksburg can no longer focus solely on attracting new industry to keep a strong economy. He cited 60,000 industrial jobs lost in Mississippi in the last 10 years when the state gained 120,000 new jobs in the service industry.

He also pointed to statistics that show younger people are no longer moving to where they find jobs, but are instead picking places to live based on quality of life and then looking for work.

“Quality of life is no longer nice to have. It’s the whole ball game,” Speed said.

Speed said he is looking to pick out a few towns in the state to work with developing downtown areas where he said he hopes to show other cities what can be done. He suggested that Vicksburg could be one of those.

He also praised the current city administration for efforts to reduce litter and increase landscaping.

“Vicksburg is in the real estate business,” Speed said. “But, you guys already understand that.”

Speed is the chairman of EastGroup Properties Inc., an equity real estate investment firm whose investment emphasis is in the development and ownership of industrial properties in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida. He also serves as chairman of Parkway Properties Inc., a real estate investment trust specializing in the ownership and operation of office properties in the Southeastern United States, Chicago and Texas. Other business interests include the chairmanship of Delta Industries Inc., a building materials company.

Born in Jackson, Speed graduated from the Jackson public school system, received his bachelor of science degree in industrial management from the Georgia Institute of Technology and received a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.