Jackson Free Press

Officials from the Jackson Medical Mall Foundation, the city of Jackson, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the Mississippi Development Authority gathered this morning to break ground on a new, energy-efficient neighborhood near the Jackson Medical Mall.

"This is only the beginning," said Jackson Medical Mall Foundation Executive Director Primus Wheeler of the Homestead Heights Subdivision, minutes before joining other officials at the ceremonial groundbreaking.

A total of 24 single-family homes--priced between $110,000 and $120,000--will comprise the nearly $3 million project, which begins at the corner of Prosperity and Woodrow Wilson Drive. The homes will feature a relatively new construction design using Structurally Insulated Panels, which consist of a sandwich of rigid foam plastic insulation between two structural skins of plywood, particle board or a combination of a weatherproof exterior and a drywall interior skin. The panels can compose the walls and the roof of the building, and offer superior insulation against Mississippi's summer heat. The material uses less fossil fuel to build than traditional stud and plywood designs, and "homeowners can expect a drastic cut in utility costs" as a result of insulation and prevented air leakage, Medical Mall Foundation officials stated in a press release.

Funding for $2.6 million of the project comes courtesy of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Mississippi Development Authority Community Services Division Director Steve Hardin said ARRA allotted Mississippi $43 million to address the housing foreclosure problem in the state. The federal money funnels to the MDA through the department of Housing and Urban Development.

"About $20 million has gone to the Mississippi Home Corporation for the purpose of home buying. We set aside $16 million to be spent in Jackson in five designated neighborhoods for the purpose of re-stabilizing those neighborhoods," Hardin said, adding that a portion of that comprised the $2.6 million funding the Homestead Heights construction.

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas and Trustmark National Bank awarded two Affordable Housing Program grants totaling $260,000 to cover the remainder of the costs.
Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. praised the development this morning at the event: "These new three-and four-bedroom houses will be an infusion in this area for new activities and vigor. It brings new affordable housing to people in the city of Jackson, but it also creates new jobs. It puts people to work," Johnson said. "This, hopefully, is just the first phase. We also look forward to rehabilitating other housing in the area."

Jackson Medical Mall Foundation employee Michael Bass is the first person claiming ownership in the new development.

"You're standing in my kitchen," Bass told the Jackson Free Press, gesturing to the grassy field beneath an enormous hackberry tree. "Over here is where I'll have my lawn chair."
Bass, who said he is completing the loan process for his home through the foundation's homebuyer program, had planned to go back to his home city of Chicago after graduating from
Jackson State University last year, but found himself with a job at the Foundation. He, his wife and their two children now look forward to living within walking distance of his job.

"I don't think you can do better than that," said Bass, who expects to move into his home when construction is finished in December.

Prospective home-owners can call the Jackson Medial Mall Affordable Housing Program at 601-982-8467 for information.