Category Archives: Beautification

by | January 24, 2011 · 9:47 am

Another WESToration Event

Another WESToration event takes place this Saturday, January 29, at 9:30 a.m. at Koinonia Coffee House. Call 601.979.2255 to RSVP.

In case you haven’t heard, our first WESToration event in November was such a success that we’ve decided to do it again! Make sure to join us this Saturday at 9:30 a.m. at Koinonia Coffee House for the second installment of WESToration (which includes a trolley tour of West Jackson).

What is WESToration? Well we’re glad you asked! It’s a program that allows qualified applicants to purchase a house here in West Jackson and make it your own through renovations of your choice. The end result? A home for you with the character and quality for which others pay hundreds of thousands of dollars. You, however, get such a home a fraction of the price!

Buying in West Jackson not only allows you to purchase a home for less; it also allows you to be environmentally friendly by saving existing homes instead of using the earth’s resources to build new ones. Plus, if you work downtown, living in West Jackson places you adjacent to the workplace. That equals less gas for you and more money for other things in life.

One more thing–if you own a home in West Jackson, you can use this program to get some of the home improvements that you’ve longed to do taken care of. Qualified applicants can use WESToration to get that new roof, siding, fresh coat of paint, upgraded windows, doors and appliances,  and many other home improvements that you’ve been planning to do.

So if you’re in the market for a home, looking to update/upgrade your home, or simply interested in learning more about West Jackson, join us for WESToration! Call 601.979.2255 to RSVP.

For more information about WESToration, make sure to visit the WESToration Page on the blog.

Koinonia Coffee House is located at 136 S. Adams Street and can be accessed from the Metro Parkway (near Gallatin Street). Map of location:

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by | January 12, 2011 · 9:30 am

The personal side of WESToration

Linda Lidell recently bought this house in
West Jackson through the WESToration Initiative.

On Saturday, November 13, we hosted our first WESToration event. To be completely candid, we didn’t know how well the program would be received. Think about: the program was scheduled for a Saturday morning, included a presentation, AND tons of rain were in the forecast. Yes, people RSVP’d, but if you’ve ever planned an event you know how that goes. Plans change, things
happen, and people can’t always commit to their RSVP.

But you know what? People came…and came…and came! So many people came that Koinonia Coffee House’s parking lot became a sea of cars. Our first WESToration event was a success with a coffee house packed with people and vans packed with folks eager to tour the potential of West Jackson. One of those people was Linda Liddell.

Linda was born in Chicago and after spending time in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, her family moved to Jackson in 1973. When they first moved to Jackson, Linda’s parents rented a home on Miller Avenue in North Jackson and eventually came to rent a home on Arbor Vista Boulevard in West Jackson in 1974. Finally, Linda’s dad became frustrated with renting and said “enough of that” and the family purchased a home a couple of streets over on Voorhees Avenue.

Thirty-five years after the move, and after spending time out of the state, Linda is back in West Jackson. After attending the WESToration event, she was convinced that she could find a home to renovate in the community that raised her. You see, Linda’s mom still lives in the home on Voorhees and Linda wanted to purchase a home close enough to allow her to check on her mom. “I was driving up Pecan Boulevard everyday,” Linda acknowledged. “I
confessed that ‘I am going to have a house on this street’…and it
came to pass.”

Things moved swiftly. Linda attended the WESToration
event on November 13th and the Pecan Boulevard home she now owns
went on the market on November 19th. She viewed the home with
her Realtor, Michael Lewis of Leah Cim Real Estate, on November 23rd, placed an offer on the home the next day, and received a response on her offer on November 27th. She closed on the house at 9 a.m. on December 31st.

Linda’s 1772 square feet brick home was built in 1939 and has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. It includes a living room, dining room, study and has some neat features including an arched front door, built in shelves, a cool old telephone nook, an even cooler slide out laundry hamper in the hallway, and one of those nostalgic mail slots that’s built into the house. It also includes a 2-car detached garage with a 456 square foot apartment above it (this brings the total square footage to 2,228).

Through Cornerstone Home Lending, Linda bundled a 203K loan and energy efficient mortgage to purchase and make improvements to her new home. She plans to refinish the hardwood floors, upgrade the home’s
insulation, update the old appliances, and install a tankless water heater among a laundry list of other improvements. She also plans to do a massive renovation on the detached garage/apartment with the funds.

Linda will be a great neighbor for the Pecan Park neighborhood. Her daughter and two grandchildren will live in the house with her and the garage apartment will be in tip top shape when her other daughter, who lives in Houston, Texas, comes to town to visit. She has done some great things in the community. One of the most moving things is the fact that she used the money that she made working overtime at the post office during the Christmas season to take four Pecan Park elementary students shopping for new outfits. She also has spent many Friday mornings in the past taking sausage and biscuit sandwiches to those in local homeless shelters for breakfast–all out of her own pocket. She even takes time to have lunch with her grandsons at school every week!

So of all the places she could have lived, why West Jackson? Linda responds with “because West Jackson is an area with great potential. I can be to work from where I am in 5 minutes…it’s convenient. I lived in Houston for 12 years and all that freeway…that’s not me.”

We can’t wait to see the finished product of Linda’s home, but until then, she was kind enough to let us take some photos of the current condition of the home. You can find the pictures below.

If you’re interested in learning how you can use the 203K loan to renovate a home in West Jackson for yourself (like Linda did), join us for our 2nd WESToration event. The event will take place on Saturday, January 29 at 9:30 a.m. at Koinonia Coffee House. For more information on this event and/or to RSVP, please call 601.979.2255.

 

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by | January 10, 2011 · 3:51 pm

West Jackson’s MLK Day Service Project

This building screams "PAINT ME!" You can help paint buildings like this on Saturday, January 15th.

On Monday, January 17, millions of Americans will have a day off work to honor the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday observance. Dr. King worked tirelessly to make civil rights in this country fair and available to all citizens.  He worked so hard that many Americans have pledged to make the holiday a “day on, not a day off.”  The holiday has transformed from a time to kick up your feet into a day of service with community service projects abound.

Keep Jackson Beautiful (the local affiliate of Keep America Beautiful) and the City of Jackson are teaming up for such a project in West Jackson.  The two organizations are requesting volunteers to help paint several concrete block buildings along the John R. Lynch Street corridor that need fresh coats (of paint) to last them longer than the winter. The painting project will take place on Saturday, January 15, 2011 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m…which means that you can still enjoy your holiday while enjoying the feeling of investing your time through service in West Jackson.

Volunteers will meet at the corner of Aberdeen Street and John R. Lynch Street. One group that plans to participate is the newly-formed Jackson chapter of Ranada’s Reads & Reels–a group that watches a movie and reads a book monthly pertaining to a topic related to the uplift of the black community and discusses the content. (They’re on Twitter and Facebook)

If you or your organization is interested in assisting with this project, contact Marsha Hobson of Keep Jackson Beautiful ( email: keepjack@bellsouth.net, office: 601.366.4842, cell: 601.398.5219)

P.S. Keep America Beautiful is one of four charities selected by Lowe’s to receive a total of $1 million in funding. The proportion of that $1 million will be determined by online voting at http://lowes.com/give or http://facebook.com/lowes. Help KAB and you can help Keep Jackson Beautiful! Visit the links and vote!

Location of Service Project:


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by | December 6, 2010 · 9:34 am

Washington Addition/Gowdy Historical Marker Unveiling Ceremony

Image by Curnis Upkins, III

As one of the older segments of the city, West Jackson can always rely upon its abundance of history.  More and more historical markers (and blues trail markers) are popping up on the west side to share this history with passers by.

The Washington Addition Neighborhood Association and the JSU Center for University-Based Development are hosting a ceremony to unveil a Mississippi historical marker for Gowdy, Mississippi.  The event will take place on Thursday, December 9, at 11:00 a.m. at the corner of John R. Lynch Street and Valley Street.

The community of Gowdy was established in the early 20th century and was the predecessor of the area now referred to as Washington Addition.  In 1915, this small township witnessed the opening of its very own post office–located in the office of the Delta Cotton Oil Mill.  The president of this oil mill was W.B. Gowdy, for which the community received its name.  In 1918, the post office outgrew its original location and was moved across the street to the grocery store of W.H. Humbles. The Gowdy Post Office staked its claim in history by hiring the first African American postmistress in the state of Mississippi, Mrs. Julia Humbles.

The streets of Gowdy were arranged in blocks with the northbound/southbound streets bearing the names of U.S. Presidents, and the eastbound/westbound streets bearing the names of local African American leaders.  Major employers in this community included the Delta Cotton Oil Mill, Jackson Brick Yard, and the Faust Brothers Mill.

The Gowdy Post Office closed in 1941 and the community that surrounded it would become known less as Gowdy and more known as Washington Addition.

If you have time this Thursday, come by and take a part in this historical occasion.

For more information, contact Blonda Mack, President of the Washington Addition Neighborhood Association, at (601) 353-3054.

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by | December 3, 2010 · 5:24 pm

The Gateway to Jackson State

Jackson State University unveils a new gateway sign (photo courtesy of JSU's Department of Public Relations)

Last year, my brother traveled from Orlando back home to Jackson with his bride-to-be.  It’s always a joy to see my brother and (now) sister-in-law since a 700 mile distance can easily cause visits to be infrequent.

While my brother was in town, he decided to show his Floridian fiancee around the city.  They eventually made their way to the main campus of Jackson State University, and that’s when I got a call. “Does JSU have a sign that we can take a picture in front of?” he asked. Sadly, my response was “not quite.” The closest thing JSU had to a sign at the time was the university seal that was 20 feet in the air at the gateway to Gibbs-Green Plaza.

I am happy to announce that now, my brother and other visitors have a sign in front of which to take a picture.  Today, university officials unveiled the new gateway sign for Jackson State University.  JSU hasn’t had such a sign since the blue-and-white sign that once existed near Dalton Street and John R. Lynch Street was removed to make way for the Gibbs Green pedestrian plaza.

The sign, which was designed by JSU’s Assistant Director of Planning & Construction Management, Marlin King, is situated on the western side of campus at the intersection of John R. Lynch Street and Prentiss Street. The sign features brick, stone, and backlit metal lettering. There is also a mixture of flowers and roses that will fill in the top of the sign as they mature. The majority of the labor and materials were donated by companies that have done business with Jackson State, including Harrell Contracting Group, McInnis Electrical Co., Love Irrigation, Rainbow Signs and Green Oak Landscaping.

Much thanks to Interim President Leslie Mclemore, Ph.D.,  Marlin King, and the team of others who helped to make this sign a reality. It is definitely a beautiful addition to West Jackson!

P.S. The student participation at the unveiling ceremony was amazing. It was great seeing such a large group of students show up to support such an event.

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by | November 16, 2010 · 3:17 pm

WESToration

Attendees make their way into Koinonia Coffee House before the 203K Event.

This past Saturday, Cornerstone Home Lending, JSU Center for University-Based Development, Atmos Energy, Wright Concepts, and Leah Cim Real Estate, welcomed dozens of people interested in revitalizing West Jackson to Koinonia Coffee House.  This program, referred to as The WESToration Initiative, involves informing interested people about the possibilities of using a 203K mortgage to fix up one of the many charming homes here in West Jackson.

While rain was in the forecast, Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day to showcase West Jackson. (As a side note, it was also a beautiful day for the Latasha Norman Memorial 5K. It was great seeing so many runners participate in this event and the Metro Parkway was an excellent location for it. If you’re planning a 5K event, you should strongly consider using the Metro Parkway for your course.)

We were prepared to welcome approximately 50 people to the event, but about 80+ people showed up eager to learn about opportunities in West Jackson.  You can only imagine how excited our team was!  About half the group loaded up into the vans that idled outside to shuttle them through the different neighborhoods of the west side while the other half listened to a presentation by Bo Smith on the benefits of a 203K loan.  After touring the West End, West Park, and Pecan Park neighborhoods, the touring group arrived back at Koinonia to trade places with the presentation group.

The committee would like to especially thank Voice of Calvary Ministries for allowing us to use their audio/visual equipment and LeFleur Transportation for coming through for us after we were notified by the trolley company that the trolley that was originally scheduled for the tour had broken down the day before the event.

If you are interested in learning more about the 203K loan among other renovation loans, contact Bo Smith at 601.982.1153 or bosmith@houseloan.com. Oh, and if you weren’t able to participate in Saturday’s event–don’t worry, we’re planning another one for late January. If that’s too long for you to wait (and we hope it is), call Bo to see what you have to do to get an marvelously renovated home in West Jackson now.

Similar Posts:

Fixin’ to Stay

News Stories:

Mississippi Link

WLBT

Jackson Free Press

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by | November 3, 2010 · 5:50 pm

The Sign of West Jackson

Community members, JSU Students, BankPlus representatives, and friends unveil the new University Park Neighborhood Sign. It is hoped that this sign will be a model sign for the neighborhoods in West Jackson. (photo by Aaron Thompson/JSU)

Today, a small crowd assembled to witness the unveiling of the University Park Neighborhood Sign.  Clouds plastered the sky as rain drizzled to the ground.  Nevertheless, those in attendance were all smiles in anticipation of this occasion.  The ceremony was originally planned to take place in the parking lot of BankPlus, but, due to the rain, it was moved indoors to the sanctuary of Epiphany Lutheran Church.

Betty Lyons, president of the University Park Neighborhood Association began the event with a warm welcome on behalf of the neighborhood.  She even invited a couple of neighborhood residents to provide some comments.  One of these residents had written two books while another revealed that she was a textile artist before she shared a beautiful sample of her work with the audience.  It was actually heartwarming to see that such creative people lived in this West Jackson community.

Next, Sargent Perry Martin addressed the crowd with a brief history of the sign.  He explained that he grew up in University Park and that there had been a neighborhood sign on the corner of John R. Lynch Street and Dalton Street years ago and that it was a pleasure to see the sign reincarnated on the corner of Dalton and Isaiah Montgomery.

Others who participated in the program include Dr. Angela Gobar (West Jackson Community Builders Institute), Pamela Moore (CBLI and National Community Development Institute), Mayor Harvey Johnson, Jr. (City of Jackson), Dr. Leslie McLemore (Interim President, Jackson State University), and Johnny Ray (BankPlus).  All had glowing remarks and excitement about the future of West Jackson.

For more information on the background of the sign, check out our previous blog post.  Thank you to all who attended. This is definitely the sign of West Jackson and hopefully another sign of greater things to come!

One thing should be noted: this sign isn’t intended for just one neighborhood.  This sign will hopefully be adopted by all neighborhoods in West Jackson.  The cost of the sign is approximately $1,700 and it can be customized with the name of your neighborhood.

If your neighborhood association is interested in purchasing one of these beautiful signs, call Curnis Upkins, III at 601.979.5828 or by email at curnis.upkins@jsums.edu.  He will be happy to assist you in the process of purchasing and posting a sign for your neighborhood’s entrance.  The only caveat is that your neighborhood must be in West Jackson.

Special thanks to Epiphany Lutheran Church for opening their doors to us to shelter us from the rain on such short notice!

Picture of the new sign on a sunny day.

Full shot of the sign unveiling.

Written by Curnis Upkins, III

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by | October 11, 2010 · 2:16 pm

Two Green Thumbs Up

Washington Addition Neighborhood Association president, Blonda Mack, shows off a cucumber from the garden.

West Jackson’s Washington Addition neighborhood is featured in the October 2010 issue of Planning Magazine. The article covers a pilot neighborhood gardening program that was initiated this past summer by Jackson State University’s Center for University-Based Development and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  Students from the Kids Kollege Summer Program at Jackson State also came by to pitch in.  This neighborhood gardens, both located on Booker Street, ultimately produced cucumbers, purple hull peas, squash, tomatoes, and okra that were available for free to the residents who maintained the garden.  For more information on the gardens, contact Ms. Mildred Martin, Project Assistant, at (601) 979-5835 or mildred.d.martin@jsums.edu.

Article and additional pictures:

USDA Teams Up With Jackson State on Community Gardens

(as appears in the October 2010 issue of Planning Magazine, an American Planning Association publication)

Vacant properties in the Washington Addition neighborhood of Jackson, Mississippi, are narrow but deep, posing an obstacle in revitalizing the blighted community. But this year, local and federal groups had an idea that beautifies while providing components of a healthy diet for residents.

In a first-of-its-kind project, Jackson State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service paired up to transform two vacant 30-by-80-foot lots into gardens planted with okra, squash, peas, and other crops. Residents can harvest the food anytime. The only rule is that they maintain the gardens.

“They turned out really nicely,” project coordinator Mildred Martin of Jackson State says of this summer’s gardens. The university has acquired 80 vacant properties in the neighborhood, and one of her office’s goals is to provide healthy food to residents of a state considered among the most obese in the nation.

“I’ve seen several people get food out of the garden,” says James Earl Jones, a nearby resident who has helped accustom his city-dwelling neighbors to working with the crops. “It has been enjoyable.”

Martin says her office has not measured how much food was yielded, but it was obvious that virtually everything was harvested. The gardens were developed at almost no cost — just a couple of hundred dollars. Volunteers planted them, local farmers lent the tillers, and the NRCS supplied the seeds and the expertise.

Right now, NRCS supports farmers and landowners but does not have an assistance program for urban gardens — something organizer Jeannine May says she hopes will change once federal officials see Jackson’s success. “We would like to see more urban gardens, like these two, sprout around the state and across the country,” she says.

NRCS’s top state official, Homer Wilkes, says the gardens provide a host of benefits, including a chance for residents to work the land. “Sometimes you have to get back to the basics,” he says.

— Justin Fritscher

Fritscher is a reporter for the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi. He studies urban planning at Jackson State University’s School of Policy and Planning.

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by | September 29, 2010 · 9:02 am

Jackson is Art Documentary

What happens when you take a group of 30 teenagers from the Capitol Street Boys and Girls Club and expose them to Architecture and Urban Design for two whole weeks? Judging from the Jackson Community Design Center‘s (JCDC) film documentary, Jackson is Art, the teens gain a whole new perspective on their city.  The camp/documentary, funded by a grant from Regions Bank, involved a combination of field trips and hands on model making that challenged the students to communicate their thoughts of present-day Jackson and to draft their vision of the capital city’s future.

The 15-minute documentary starts off with a simple challenge: to explain Jackson in one word.  Judging from the responses, it is without a doubt that the students could clearly describe the current state of their city. Their one-word descriptions of Jackson ranged from “huge” to “diverse” to “fun” to “okay”.  Later in the documentary, the students provide full blown descriptions of their hometown.  As images of the city’s distressed areas pan across the screen, a girl can be heard saying, “we have to go to other places to have fun.” Ouch! Their responses are testaments to the state of Jackson–an imperfect city with the perfect measure of potential.  This part of the documentary definitely outlines the issues that must be addressed.

I hope I haven’t lost you. You may be thinking, “I thought this blog was about positive news in West Jackson.” Well, it is! This documentary is all about positivity.  It rightly spends a little time at the beginning of the video explaining some of the current adverse conditions of the city.  Rightly so because if positive change requires the addressing of negative conditions, those conditions/aspects must not be ignored.  But the rest of the video explains the camp, and the excitement on the teenagers’ faces is evident.  The teens even had fun at the…wait for it…Old Capitol Museum!  If anything was achieved by this two week camp, it was the exposure of these students to the fields of architecture and urban design as well as the concept that they can participate in changing the city they love.

So break out the popcorn, kick up your feet, and enjoy the show!

P.S. Much thanks to Whitney Grant of the JCDC for posting this video to the West Jackson Facebook account!

Written by Curnis Upkins, III

Video produced by: Whitney Grant of the JCDC and Robby Piantanida of Borrowed Productions

Video shot & cut by: Robby Piantanida

Additional footage shot by: Aaron Phillips

Project offers special thanks to: High Noon Cafe, Mangia Bene, Sneaky Beans, Steve’s Deli, The Old Capitol Museum, Mississippi Museum of Art, and Hilton Garden Inn at the King Edward Hotel

JCDC Project team:

Jassen Callender (Director), Whitney Grant (Research Associate/Project Coordinator), Neil Polen (Research Associate, Instructor), Shannon Gathings (Instructor), and Shauncey Battle (Instructor)

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by | September 20, 2010 · 3:52 pm

BOOM, there it is!

UPDATED: 9/21/2010

For those of you who may not know, BOOM Jackson’s Autumn 2010 issue hit news stands a couple of weeks ago and a flip version of the magazine was posted on BOOM’s website this past weekend. Nestled in the bottom left corner of the magazine’s cover is a phrase that reads “The Great Society of West Jackson.”  To hear the words “great” and “West Jackson” used together is proof that people are finally starting to get it. People are realizing that great things are in store for this side of town.

What can you find in the latest issue of BOOM?  For starters, you can read about West Jackson resident Zakiya Summers on page 13. (By the way, the little boy pictured above is her son, Marvin.  He celebrated his 3rd birthday this past Sunday!) Turn to page 18 and you can learn about the great development plans for the Metrocenter.  There’s a blurb about the redevelopment of the Coca-Cola plant on page 20.  Turn to page 62 and read Jackson foodies revel about West Jackson Mexican restaurant Taqueria Mexicana. Then, the culmination of this issue is the cover story about a West Jackson resident who took a abandoned home and turned it into a true work of art. This home surely belongs on an HGTV designer showcase! In fact, if you need inspiration to move into one of the lonely houses in this part of town, read the article, then read the Fixin to Stay blog post so that you can learn more about the federal rehabilitation loan.

There are traces of West Jackson on other pages in this great magazine, including:

Page 30: University Place ad

Page 53: Rib Shack BBQ & Seafood Menu

Page 57: Stamps Superburgers ad (by the way, they serve EXCELLENT turkey burgers)

Page 70: West Jackson non-profit, Dress for Success Jackson

Page 86: Boo at the Zoo event

Page 86: Total Praise Gospel Tour (to be held on JSU campus)

Page 90: Blurb about Koinonia Coffee House

So, there you have it. I’ve already found the West Jackson references in the latest BOOM Jackson magazine, now it’s your turn to read the articles. Have fun and be inspired!

P.S. If you want to see some more great photos of the transformation of deborah’s home, visit BOOM Jackson’s outtakes from their photography session.

Written by Curnis Upkins, III

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