Jackson seeks ways to help historic Farish district

By Jack Mazurak and Kathleen Baydala

Melton

While construction in the two-block Farish Street Entertainment District has ground to a halt, community and city efforts are under way to revive other parts of the historic district.

Developers had said businesses in the first block of the Entertainment District — between Amite and Griffith streets —should open in April, but state environmental officials stopped construction because workers ran into hazards including asbestos and mold.

"They were working off an old environmental study. There are more hazards than just loose bricks and shaky foundations," said Carl Allen, city deputy director of Planning and Development.But city administrators met with members of the Scott Ford Collaborative on Tuesday evening to discuss incentives for property owners to renovate their homes or businesses. Albert L. Adams, 53, a Cohea Street resident, was one of the 15 property owners who attended the meeting.

He said he wants to find out about housing assistance available to him through the city. He said it's clear businesses have opportunities through grants, but homeowners need funding to repair properties.Mary Merck, city zoning administrator, said if property owners fix up their homes, their property values would increase and they would have seven years before the city reassessed their properties, causing them to pay higher taxes. She also said property owners could qualify for state and federal tax credits because they are in a historic district.

Allen said the city is marketing several areas including the Farish Street Historic District.

"We are talking to investors every day about the new incentive package," he said, referring to recent GO Zone tax abatement legislation that allows new investments to depreciate before taxes come due.City Chief Administrative Officer Robert Walker said he plans to form task forces to attract businesses and work with homeowners.

Alferdteen Harrison, coordinator of the community-based collaborative, said the district was still a thriving African-American community in the late 1970s."I feel guilty that we have allowed it to have national recognition, but we have done very little to protect its national cultural heritage," she said.

The Farish Street Historic District downtown area is roughly bordered by Amite, Mill, Lamar and Fortification streets.

Mayor Frank Melton pushed developer John Elkington on Tuesday to speed up construction. Elkington's Memphis-based company, Performa, is working on the two blocks of Farish Street between Amite and Hamilton streets. The $12 million project has commitments from businesses such as the Funny Bone Comedy Club, B.B. King's Blues Club and Mississippi BBQ Co."We've got taxpayer money in there so this guy needs to step it up. He's the one who said April," Melton said.

But Elkington said Tuesday workers clearing out buildings found more asbestos than anticipated."We're fighting battles, but we're making progress," he said. "We don't announce a lot of things because this is a long-term process. Jackson is not used to development so it makes it a little more difficult."