A collaborative effort between the Jackson Housing Authority and the City of Jackson aims to construct 40 single-family homes if awarded a grant by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, an opportunity totaling $10 million.
As the need for housing continues to be at the forefront of conversation in Jackson, The Pathways to Removing Obstacles in Housing grant would establish affordable housing in the area surrounding the Oman Arena — a location where approximately 70% of residents are renters.
Per the city’s grant application, the redevelopment potential in the Oman Arena sub-area “would be transformative for this neighborhood, which over the last few decades has fallen into severe disinvestment, with large tracts of blight and vacancy, a concentration of pre-1940s public housing, and a large portion of low-income and impoverished renters.”
Jackson’s Chief Innovation Officer Lauren Kirk, a spearheading force in the grant application, explained that the grant would promote community resilience, reduce the cost burden of purchasing a home by offering low-interest mortgage options, and aid in deterring displacement.
“We want to reinvest in the heart of our city but we also want to make sure that each neighborhood in Jackson has the ability for people to afford to live there and has a good mix of incomes, but ultimately is strong and resilient,” Kirk said.
