Is Beleaguered Bon Air Back?

Adam Lynch

The Bon Air Subdivision on Capitol Street remains a difficult task to complete. Only nine of the 30 slated houses are finished, with only three more planned this year.

by Adam Lynch
November 4, 2009

The city of Jackson announced new funds for the development of the Bon Air Subdivision on West Capitol Street last week—a project with a long trail of controversy behind it.

"We are working with the West Jackson Community Development Center to finalize a contract to build three more houses before the end of the year," said city spokesman Chris Mims, adding that the city has received the go-ahead for $500,000 in federal money for various projects. "Eventually, we will have about 30 houses that will be built in that subdivision, but the next phase is three houses, for which we've been provided $358,000 in HUD funds."

Bon Air is a problematic subdivision, the construction of which could not be completed under two different administrations. Mayor Harvey Johnson Jr. announced the city's desire to revamp the neighborhood during his last administration, prior to the election of Mayor Frank Melton. The city gave the property to West Jackson CDC to oversee the renovation. That was more than six years ago.

Johnson held a ground-breaking at the neighborhood's Capitol Street entrance during his second term, announcing the city's endeavor to rebuild the infrastructure of the area in preparation for about 30 new middle-income homes.

The homes themselves remained a difficult project to accomplish, however, and the empty lots persevered into the Melton administration. Only nine homes sit complete in the subdivision today.

Melton ran on a platform of training the city's troubled youth in blue-collar construction trades, and promised to work with local unions to educate youth for the task. Bon Air factored heavily in that endeavor. Melton's administration signed a deal with Laborers' Union Business Manager James Anderson to train the youth at a union facility in Louisiana, specifically to instruct pupils on how to build Bon Air homes up to code.

The project failed miserably, Anderson said recently.

"We trained about 80 students, mostly troubled kids, most out of high school, trying to help the neighborhood kids to get them in a working environment. Frank had a good feel for kids in the community—but it was all a waste of time and union money. The contract fell completely apart. The contractor didn't even try to work them."

West Jackson CDC enlisted the help of developer H.A. Crosby in 2006, but Crosby could not gather the funding to complete the work, both Anderson and the CDC said.

"Tony (Crosby) was trying to get some money in order to develop the thing, but I don't think he was able to borrow to the money. So he partnered with a contractor out of Alabama in a joint venture," Anderson told the Jackson Free Press.

But as time went by, he added, Alabama contractor Clear Water Construction took the project over from Crosby—only Crosby had signed the union agreement that Anderson took to the city, not Clear Water. "When Clear Water came to me and told me to sign the project with them, it threw up red flags with me," Anderson said.

Anderson said he contacted then-City Attorney Sarah O'Reilly-Evans about the unexpected change-over. The attorney professed no knowledge of the usurpation, he said.

The union then met with Clear Water on at least three occasions, even going so far as to insert language in the contract with Crosby to include Clear Water as the primary developer, although it never signed the agreement.

Anderson said the two contractors began bickering over the details amid the meetings.

"They had a fight among themselves and they tried to bring me into it. Tony (Crosby) never got the money and didn't get started," Anderson said. "It was a mess."

The contact number for Clear Water Construction Consultants in Pelham, Ala., is no longer in service.

West Jackson CDC head Linda Evans said the CDC had no knowledge of the bickering, but also had nothing to do with the city's union agreement with Crosby.

"We did not sign an agreement with them. The CDC didn't have any connection or participation with the part of the project at all," Carter said. "We had a contract with the developer, but unfortunately that didn't work out, so we had to terminate the contract."

Sources inside the union questioned what happened to the entirety of the federal grant money slated for the Bon Air project in 2006, wondering if the grant money had been illegally steered to city employees.

Carter denied any suspicions of illegal transfers, saying the CDC spent the money on a host of other projects.

"The city did have some funds back in 2006 under Melton," Carter said. "That grant was $358,000, along with another for $461,000, which were spent on Bon Air and the Chamber subdivision, over on Robinson Street, by Greater Mount Cavalry Church."

West Jackson CDC also used some of the money to build three new houses in the Washington Addition area under the Melton administration.

Johnson has announced no plans to work with unions on any training ventures concerning the development. The mayor had no comment on the union agreement with the last administration.

Prentiss Street resident Brenda Cheeks, who lives near the Bon Air community, said she welcomed the new construction. "Those old houses that were over there were worse than an eyesore really. A lot of those houses were dilapidated and a mess. It was already good just to get rid of them," Cheeks said. "The new homes will hopefully instill a sense of pride and be a good enough price to have owners who care about them and care about the community."

posted by justjess on 11/05/09 at 09:38 AM