In an otherwise very depressing article about abandoned housing in Jackson (third in a series) in the Clarion-Ledger, I found a beam of light in Marcia Weaver, leader in the successful effort back in the early 1990s to get a preservation ordinance passed in Jackson. Ms. Weaver has put her money where her mouth is, renovating a nice two-story house in what used to be–back in the 1920s or so–the fancy western suburbs of Jackson and turning it into a bed and breakfast. If only a few more people would join her in her efforts, she would have an easier time of revitalizing that neighborhood. Good job, Ms. Weaver, and keep up the good work!
Marcia Weaver, a community activist and former council member, is a big advocate of preserving the city’s older neighborhoods.
“Back when I was on the City Council, I thought that we should really try to give our properties to people who would agree to rehab them and stay in them for a certain period of time. I never could get that going,” she said.
Weaver has put her money and sweat where her sentiments lie. Fifteen years ago, she purchased a house near Poindexter Park that had been vacant for seven years and transformed it into a bed and breakfast.
“It’s still operating today. I can’t say that its thriving, but it is nearly paid for,” she said.
The cost of rehabbing a house is much greater than tearing one down, but Weaver said the bed and breakfast is an investment.
“I know that properties that are abandoned and boarded up are an eyesore, but if we can maintain those structures, as long as the roof is good and not falling down, then it is a better investment if we can encourage people to buy them and live in them,” she said.
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