Farish Street Development Update

WLBT, 7/31/7

Jackson Mayor Frank Melton says he wants to pull the contract for the redevelopment of Farish Street because of a lack of progress. It was supposed to be turned into an entertainment destination area, like Beale Street in Memphis, but progress has been very slow.

Some new store fronts are now in place in at least three places, but buildings are propped up by steel supports to keep their walls from falling, and many buildings are just sitting there gutted, with no work going on to rebuild them. Some shotgun houses, rebuilt several years ago, have fallen into disrepair. The mayor wants to tear them down, but has run into trouble from historic preservation laws.