By Tom Bailey

On the west end of Silo Square in Southaven on Thursday, construction crews worked on the foundations for the first single-family houses.

On the east end near the entrance on Getwell Road, crews focused on finishing the interiors of the first two mixed-use buildings that flank May Boulevard. Each will house retail or restaurants on the ground floor and 12 apartments on the two upper floors.

The presence of a kitchen-appliance delivery truck signaled that completion of those buildings is within sight.

The two, 22,000-square-foot buildings, each three stories, are effectively designed as illusions. The front exterior is sectioned into four different colors and patterns of bricks. The one building looks as if it is four narrow buildings sharing common walls, like in the way century-old downtown stores were developed.

Also on Silo Square’s east end, the third and fourth New Urbanist-style buildings – retail on the bottom/apartments above – already have roofs and a white wrapping of Tyvek weather barrier material.

Those four buildings are the first of 13 mixed-use buildings planned for the square.

And between the construction of single-family homes and mixed-use buildings, masons bricked up a monumental piece of public art: The tall bell tower that rises inside a traffic roundabout.

A base layer of asphalt as well as curbs already have been installed for much of the road network inside the 228-acre development.

The $220 million Silo Square is starting to show its full form, all its mix of uses.

Developer Brian Hill’s big project is rising across Getwell Road from Snowden Grove, in a former soybean field nearly a mile south of Getwell at Goodman Road.

Progress also is being made on attracting commercial and residential tenants, Barry Maynard said this week. He and Frank Dyer, brokers with Gill Properties, are leading the recruitment.

So far, the roster of commercial tenants comprises: Ultimate Gifts, Haven Salon, Custom Jewelry, Magnolia House, Lifestyle Communities, City Hall Cheesecake and Posh Spa.

“We have five to six (tenant prospects) we are in final lease negotiations with,” Maynard said.

The out-parcel sales so far include the already open Slim Chickens as well as Dr. Edward Rather’s dental office, Planters Bank headquarters, and Tekila Mexican Bar & Grill.

Twenty-one of the 24 apartments in the first two mixed-use buildings have been pre-leased “with no marketing or advertisement,” Maynard said.

And on the west end where the single-family homes are being built, posted signs show that several lots have been sold already. They are among what eventually will be 305 single-family lots for houses generally ranging in price from $225,000 to $400,000.

When finished, Silo Square will comprise six retail out-parcels, the bank out-parcel, two hotel sites, 13 mixed-use buildings, three office buildings, 2.6 acres for a farmer’s market, 10 acres of apartments, and 64 acres of green space.