Washington Addition

University village

history

Washington Addition is a neighborhood nestled between the south end of Jackson State University’s campus and north of I-20 with a rich heritage of a once thriving community. The neighborhood started to take a turn once the economics of the community changed after major employers left the area leaving many unemployed. As the years went on, Washington Addition continued to slowly decline from a lack of private investment and public support. With little to no activity, the housing market has become stagnant and leaving many property owners in a challenging situation.

Community profile

This community is home to over 2,000 people and 70+ businesses, most of whom have been part of this community for generations. You will also find historic markers throughout the neighborhood that highlight the rich history and legacy of Washington Addition. For more information on the basic demographics of the Washington Addition neighborhood, we have a recent demographic report.

development Strategy

Our development strategy was developed to accomplish a primary goal: Stimulate the market in target communities through residential development. Aimed at increasing the property value and home prices in the area as well as working with local organizations to increase the percentage of home ownership.

why now?

This community has been studied and researched over the past decade by various local organizations. Local community development corporations as well as the City of Jackson to explore viable strategies to invest and improve the Washington Addition neighborhood. Recently there has been a major effort by city planners to jumpstart this process by providing resources to property owners in the area. This effort has resulted in a comprehensive plan developed by the city with the input of Washington Addition Neighborhood Association.

Now that a plan has been developed the city of Jackson is preparing resources to facilitate the plan specifically for Washington Addition. In conjunction with the neighborhood plan, the City of Jackson has also won a major grant to develop an intermodal transportation system to help improve how people move and experience Jackson. As you can see in the image, this development will connect Jackson State University to a major traffic corridor for the city while also bringing bike lanes and road improvements to Washington Addition.

Not only has the community needed a resurgence of investment in affordable housing but the increased student population at Jackson State University has increased the demand for housing for students and faculty. With the development of the Continental Tire plant bringing more jobs to the area only a few mile west, we expect the demand to steadily increase. We believe these efforts all working in tandem will initiate a surge in home values in Washington Addition and see this as an opportunity to be an asset to the process while generating strong returns for our investors.

development plan

We currently have a 4 year development plan comprised of 3 phases. We also have created a community development corporation (CDC) to support our efforts. MRG’s CDC, THRIVE Jackson, will play a vital role in our development plan by addressing some of the intangibles of the process to help improve the community. By partnering with local organizations, THRIVE Jackson, will be able to provide education and information programs for home ownership as well as provide grants to distribute resources in this community with the primary goal of increasing home owners in Washington Addition.

PHASE I
Phase I will be focused on acquisition and development a portion of our inventory to establish a new base for the market. By providing an affordable product we can maximize our target market and adequately meet current demand. Primary focus will be directed to investors who will appreciate the performance potential on an income property as well as new homeowners who wants a desirable product in the area. Using those sales, a base value and trend can be established for new homes in the area. With the inventory of multi-family/single family properties and vacant lots acquired in Phase I, we expect that we will be able to provide an attractive option for the existing and growing housing demand.

our offer

We believe opportunities like this completely capture our mission. With our experiences in successfully executing this strategy on a smaller scale combined with our investors capital, MRG will be in position to have a strong influence on the local housing supply.

This allows us to create a unique offering to maximize engagement and participation. We will be offering two different investor options throughout the process. Due to the fact the acquisition costs are so low we can pass that opportunity to our investor group by offering a low minimum with a shorter investment period. We also offer an opportunity for those that want to get more involved and participate in the development and see a profit share at exit.