Tim Cantwell exudes exuberance when it comes to talking about Vicksburg. One would think the developer had lived here all his life.

He hasn’t.

He makes his home in southern California as a very successful developer, but he has a vested interest in the future of Vicksburg and would like for those who have lived their entire lives here to join in with him and see what they’re missing out on.

“You have a world-class city ready to discover itself,” Cantwell told those gathered Wednesday at the Vicksburg Convention Center for the monthly Chamber of Commerce meeting.

He said Vicksburg is lacking local investors in the community. From an outsiders point of view, Cantwell said, “there’s been disinvestment in the community” from locals. He said it’s “crucial” those people who have lived a majority of their lives invest in its future.

Cantwell has put his money where his mouth is and is committed to the future of Vicksburg.

He’s the owner and operator of more than 250 apartments in Vicksburg, as well as several business developments, including the First National Building on Washington Street into the Lofts and 10 South and the recently opened Cottonwood Public House, which will be serving its own brew of beer.

But his major investment is the Mississippi Hardware building that, once completed, will house the Mississippi Center for Innovation and Technology Transfer.

Cantwell purchased the building in December 2016 and rather than create another apartment development, decided to go in another direction.

The plan for the building is for it to serve as a center where private businesses can work with researchers at the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center to bring products for commercial use. The plan will also be to locate ERDC’s existing graduate institute in the center, incorporate portions of the Vicksburg Warren School District’s career academies and hopefully attract undergraduate programs, Cantwell said.

The idea would be to co-locate in the building elements of those partnerships and the transfer center work as an intermediary “to try to sort out some of the potential commercial utilizations and have this be an incubator,” Cantwell said.

Cantwell said that as part of the First National project investors raised $1.8 million in capital. He said they likely will need as much as $2.3 million in capital for the transfer center, which is expected to be about a $20 million project.

“For First National, we raised that with the exception of a couple people, all came from other parts of the country from people who came, looked at your city and thought what a great city,” he said. “I would hope that this time we will get that from you all.”

Cantwell, who did not offer a timeline for when the facility will open, said the center will also be funded using Historic and New Market Tax Credits. The building was built in 1936 and the design will have to be approved by the National Archives.