For contractors who've been waiting to see if Jackson is ready to build again, the mayor had some numbers to share.
Mayor John Horhn gave his second State of the City address on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Jackson Convention Complex. WLBT reported that hundreds of people heard him lay out 15 months of progress while warning that much more work remains.
"We haven't solved every problem. We haven't finished the job, and nobody in this room should mistake progress for perfection, but we have begun to confront our problems head on," Horhn said.
Permits and new projects
Horhn said the Department of Planning and Development issued 773 building permits, 576 for housing and 197 for business. The department also issued 749 licenses for new businesses, renewed about 2,500 others and brought in about $3.1 million in new revenue without adding a permanent employee.
He pointed to private developers putting money into the city. "Gabriel Prado broke ground on Prado Lofts, a $50 million development with 215 homes," he said. He also mentioned Chico Patel's $25 million, 111-room Hampton Inn in Fondren and Kumar Bhavanasi, who he said now owns more than 2 million square feet downtown.
Horhn said the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership expects to cut the ribbon in November on Leonard Court, a housing development on Farish Street. The same nonprofit plans to break ground in spring 2027 on two more affordable housing projects, on Robinson Road and Raymond Road.
According to the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership, Leonard Court includes 67 restored historic homes in Jackson's Farish Street neighborhood, offering one- to four-bedroom single-family homes and duplexes. Every home has a project-based voucher through Mississippi Regional Housing Authority VI. The homes will have in-unit washers and dryers, central heat and air and indoor security systems, plus a clubhouse, a gazebo and on-site management and maintenance.
When the project broke ground in April 2025, WLBT reported that the homes sit on 5.8 acres in one of Jackson's most historic Black neighborhoods.
Streets and drainage
The biggest number for contractors may have been on the infrastructure side. Horhn said Public Works has closed 4,399 major work orders and "has selected contractors for $150 million in street and drainage projects."
"This is the biggest year of paving Jackson has seen in 40 years," he said. "Forty years. Most of the residents in Jackson have grown up seeing nothing but bad streets."
The city and Hinds County are filling about 2,500 potholes a month, he said. He also said the corridor named for Medgar Evers is among those the city is working to rebuild.
On money, Horhn said he inherited a $25 million budget shortfall, about $68,000 a day, and that it's now gone. "We solved it without layoffs, without furloughs, and without a tax increase," he said. The city set a budget of about $113 million for fiscal 2027 based on projected revenue, WLBT reported.
He said the city is still catching up on audits. The 2023 report wasn't finished until November 2025, and the 2024 and 2025 reports are still not done. He also said the city had been overbilled $1.3 million on one contract. "We are finding money we didn't know we were losing," he said. "We're pursuing every dollar we can recover."
On water, Horhn said conversations about the future of the system run by JXN Water are ongoing. "Jackson owns these water assets. Jackson carries the debt," he said. "We welcome responsible partners. We welcome expertise. We welcome solutions."
Why it matters for Contractors
The $150 million in street and drainage projects is the big one. Horhn said contractors have already been selected, so subs, suppliers, trucking companies and traffic control firms should be reaching out to the firms that won that work. On the housing side, 576 housing permits and projects like Prado Lofts, Leonard Court and two upcoming Gulf Coast Housing Partnership developments on Robinson Road and Raymond Road show steady residential work in the capital city. The mayor didn't name the contractors on the street program or the builders on the upcoming affordable housing projects, so contractors should watch the city's bid postings and reach out to the Gulf Coast Housing Partnership ahead of the spring groundbreakings.