Adaptive Reuse: Creating The Plant Venue
Chances are, you’ve likely never encountered another building quite like The Plant Venue. Oftentimes, when new guests come to visit for the first time, they immediately exclaim, “This doesn’t look like Jackson, Mississippi!” We sincerely appreciate this response and take great pleasure in sharing the backstory of where it all began and how it has evolved over time.
If you’re interested in how an event venue ended up in the middle of an industrial park, read along to learn more about the building’s origin, discovery, and development as an adaptive reuse project!
The Plant Venue, 2024
Industrial History Driving through the historic Fondren Warehouse District, you can discover many legacy businesses that date back as early as the 1930s. These include notable names such as Scanlon-Taylor Millwork, Jackson Plating Co., Jackson Bolt & Screw, and several others that continue to operate and thrive in the neighborhood today. Our building was originally constructed in the 1960s by Southern Pipe & Supply as a distribution plant along the railroad. The building was left abandoned for many years until 2016 when we found it looking like this.⇩
Early Days In early concepts for the space, it was reimagined as a mixed-use development including a cafe, bar, grocery store, restaurant, offices, and makers-space. For the first few years in operation, many small businesses were started within these walls in an environment curated for entrepreneurship.
Eventually, many of the businesses were successful and found new spaces in other areas like the Fondren commercial strip and Lakeland Drive where they developed their own storefronts. Eventually, we started to notice the growing demand and increasing interest in larger, flexible event space in our area specifically designed for various occasions such as ceremonies, receptions, nonprofit fundraisers, semi-formals, and networking events. Recognizing this trend, we were inspired to continue reimagining the space as a distinctive and unique venue to support and enhance Jackson’s thriving event scene.
The Watson’s Ceremony | Photography: Castro Collective Photo
Development The vision for this unique space continued to evolve as we combined our personal interests and expertise as a photographer and designer, along with backgrounds as a landscape architect and urban planner, into the intricate details of the project. A strong sense of character began to develop throughout the design process, and the defining themes emerged clearly: integrating various natural elements seamlessly into both the interior and exterior spaces, allowing native plants to flourish and take over gently, while being paired with minimalist backdrops such as crisp white walls and raw materials that beautifully reflect the abundance of natural light that fills the venue.
The distribution of indirect natural lighting can be attributed to the venue’s unique sawtooth roof, designed to bring light to spaces that would have traditionally been covered by a flat roof. Another unseen feature of the roof is that it collects rainwater which flows through the building, gets captured in our retention pond and stormwater cistern, and is ultimately reused to water the plants!
Brand The name, “The Plant Venue,” was decided to combine the theme of botanicals and natural elements with the venue’s industrial history (as it started off as a pipe distribution plant). Both of these identifying factors are visible throughout the space with concrete beams, vines and plants adorning shipping containers and old vents, and contemporary palettes and modern art found in each room.
The spaces at The Plant are notably unlike many other venues typically found in the Deep South, which often include traditional settings such as a church, barn, historic home, or country club. Instead, The Plant brings a unique character to the area by incorporating natural elements and design. Additionally, it evokes the effects of biophilia, a concept suggesting that humans are innately attracted to nature and benefit significantly from spending time immersed in it. This connection to nature results in lowered stress levels and a contagiously positive atmosphere that enhances any gathering.
Marketing Through our social media presence, we are proud to showcase the venue brought to life exactly as we intended it: designed for those who are eager to discover an untraditional, out-of-the-box, unique, and modern venue that can truly transform their event into something spectacular. With a background as a photographer, it is rewarding and endlessly inspiring to witness talented creatives from our local area and even from other states come to our venue to capture moments for weddings, styled photoshoots, and various other special occasions.
Style Entertainment at The Torres Reception captured by Sarah Marie Photo
The Plant is a welcoming space where everyone is invited to become a part of the cool kids club. It’s not uncommon to feel out of place in traditional environments, so our hope is that all hosts feel free to express themselves fully and authentically in our setting, while guests feel just as warmly embraced by the overall atmosphere of the space. We are continually inspired by the wonderful couples who choose to host their wedding day with us and share in the appreciation of its unique character and the intentionality of its thoughtfully crafted design.
Entry Signage to the Fondren Warehouse District
Since opening The Plant Venue, we have partnered with other businesses in the industrial park to develop and invest in our area now known as the Fondren Warehouse District. From continued production and distribution operations to other adaptive reuse projects, our growing neighborhood has lots of character and we’re proud to be a part of its future.
We highly recommend following The Plant Venue on social media to stay engaged and inspired by unique event designs created in an unlikely destination here in Mississippi!
