Jackson Free Press

With construction on a mixed-use development scheduled for completion in July, Jackson State University's Center for University-Based Development is looking ahead to several projects in west Jackson. The next phase of the center's work is a mixed-income residential development that could break ground in the fall, Kimberly Hilliard, CUBD Director of Community Development and Planning, said today.

I think that people are concerned that with (JSU) President (Ronald) Mason leaving that development work is going to stop," Hilliard during a community forum at Koinonia Coffee House. "He has set a vision, but we're so far down (the road)--that's phase one, and I'm on phase five."

The CUBD's first major on-campus project, One University Place, is a four-story building housing apartments above retail space the ground floor. Construction is set to finish this summer, and Hilliard is now turning her attention to a residential development on undeveloped land just west of the Terry Round roundabout. The project, tentatively called University Place, will consist of at least 40 single-family homes and townhouses.

The Center is currently revising the townhouse design to make it more regionally specific, Hilliard said. The homes will be priced for annual incomes of $30,000 and higher.

"We know that that's a doable market for us," Hilliard said. "That's what many public employees for the city and state make. We did a housing study maybe five or six years ago, and we realized that that was a market not being served in the core city."

Financing for the project will come from a number of private sources, including local banks and federal New Market Tax Credits, Hilliard said. With additional funds, the development could eventually expand to 80 units.

"I think it's kind of wait-and-see with the banks," Hilliard said. "I think if we can sell the 40 (units) very quickly, then they'll finance the rest."

The Center is also developing a plan to promote local history along John R. Lynch Street, which once hosted headquarters for civil rights organizations like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Council of Federated Organizations.

"We're really at the conceptual phase of that part," Hilliard said.

Other preliminary phases of the Center's work involve a plan for development along Metro Parkway, and an "entertainment center" near JSU, Hilliard said.

Hilliard said that she could not divulge many details about the entertainment project because the Center is currently involved in acquiring land for it but added that it was intended for a "pivotal location in west Jackson."