Sandwiched between Millsaps College and Mill Street, North Midtown has tremendous resources, but the neighborhood has struggled with blight, losing nearly 26 percent of its population since 2000. To envision a different future for the neighborhood, the North Midtown Community Development Corp. enlisted Jackson’s Duvall Decker Architects to design a master plan.
The plan first calls for protecting current homeowners by creating a need-based home-improvement fund that would provide small grants for repairs. It then calls for increasing population density, by attracting new residents to a health-conscious, diverse neighborhood with improved recreation and educational opportunities.
The Goals
Build diversity – Mixed-use residential and commercial developments build socioeconomic diversity by attracting artists, students and professionals.
More after-school programs – Good Samaritan Midtown, currently located on Millsaps Avenue, hopes to expand its after-school education programs, including Montessori child care, to a new, larger facility on Josanna Street.
School recreation expansion – A growing Midtown population will require school expansions. Additional recreational facilities will serve the public as well as students.
New, quality affordable housing – The Jackson Housing Authority has already partnered with Duvall Decker to build 63 new units with energy-efficient appliances and solar-paneled roofs.
Low-cost, ecologically responsible landscaping – A natural slope and poor infrastructure make North Midtown’s southwest corner prone to flooding. Park space with man-made wetlands on the edge of Mill Street will control flooding, filter runoff water and create a buffer with the train tracks.
Health as infrastructure – The plan calls for “health circuits,” a network of walking, jogging and bike paths along city streets, with periodic spaces for exercise and recreation equipment.
Previous Comments
- ID
- 154765
- Comment
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Clarion-Ledger got around to doing this “Makeover” story today, two weeks after Ward.
- Author
- DonnaLadd
- Date
- 2010-01-05T22:36:08-06:00
- ID
- 154769
- Comment
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YAY! more gentrification.
- Author
- that guy
- Date
- 2010-01-05T23:35:22-06:00