The Legislature during its most recent session directed funding for several projects in Jackson through the Capitol Complex Improvement District.
Two of the projects are in the Fondren neighborhood and one falls in the LOHO Homeowners Association, which covers the area bordered by Meadowbrook Road in the north, Eastover Drive in the south, the I-55 North frontage road to the west and Ridgewood Road to the east.
The Fondren Renaissance Foundation received a $250,000 allocation for what is expected to be increased street lighting.
“We anticipate that increased street lighting will be one of the first considerations, but our hope is that all the projects will improve safety and walkability for the business district,” said Rebecca Garrison, executive director of the Fondren Renaissance Foundation.
“We are very thankful for the investment in Fondren and intend to use the funding in ways that will benefit the Capitol Complex and the city.”
She said the foundation will work with leaders at the Capitol Complex Improvement District and the foundation’s community plan consultants to determine the priority projects for the allocation.
The Fondren Renaissance Foundation requested the allocation as part of Fondren Forward, a comprehensive community planning effort currently underway for the entire Fondren community.
“The community plans should be complete by October so that would be our target date for getting started on the CCID projects,” Garrison said.
The Legislature also appropriated $395,136 to the Capitol Complex Improvement District for infrastructure improvements along Druid Hill Drive, which stretches from Lynwood Drive to the west I-55 frontage road.
Druid Hill connects St. Richard Catholic Church to the former Meadowbrook Church of Christ, which St. Richard Catholic School now owns.
With a loan from the Catholic Diocese of Mississippi, St. Richard School purchased the former Meadowbrook Church of Christ campus, which is located at 4211 I-55 North and includes three buildings, for $2.5 million in 2023. Plans call for students to start the 2024-2025 academic year at the current location and then move into the new location in January 2025.
Sen. Walter Michel of District 25 said the funding would be used to repair the street and add a sidewalk to Druid Hill Drive so that students, teachers and others can walk back and forth between the school and the church.
“That street has not had improvements in 35 years,” he said. “There are trees growing up in the street. It’s wide enough for two cars to park and still have two lanes of traffic.”
The Legislature also channeled $400,000 through the Capitol Complex Improvement District for repairing, milling and paving Simwood Place, which is off Roxbury Road.
Marcy Scoggins, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Department of Finance and Administration, said the funding for the projects has not yet been released to the Capitol Complex Improvement District.
The CCID Advisory Committee will meet next in July.
Wondering why the Legislature directed the funds to the Capitol Complex Improvement District rather than the city of Jackson?
Pete Perry, a Jackson resident and member of the One Percent Sales Tax Infrastructure Commission, offered these reasons: When the city handles jobs it costs twice as much and contractors don’t want to work for the city of Jackson because the city is slow to pay.
