Former sheriff turned real-estate investor calls on state and local leaders to clean up South Jackson neighborhood

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – A real-estate investor is sounding the alarm about a South Jackson neighborhood that he says demands immediate attention from state and local leaders.

Former Hinds County Sheriff Tyrone Lewis owns about 20 properties throughout the Capital City that are either already or soon-to-be Airbnb’s.

Lewis said the only two that concern him are the ones located in South Jackson.

“Appearance is everything when you’re trying to attract a good tenant,” he said.

The properties are located on a cul-de-sac off Vernon Drive, which is a street that is almost entirely made up of abandoned homes, overgrown properties, and excessive debris.

It’s an area that Lewis said has been overrun by squatters, many of whom are responsible for abandoned homes catching fire when trying to keep warm during the winter months.

“One of the things you have to consider with that is that you have families staying in this area who have invested in their properties and in their homes,” Lewis said. “It’s an area that has kids, and they have to come through a blighted area like this.”

As we made our way closer to Raymond Road, a resident asked Lewis and I what we were taking video of. When we told him, he replied, “that’s South Jackson.”

That’s exactly the stigma the former sheriff and a group of investors are looking to change in the form of Airbnb’s and responsible tenants.

“The only way to keep your community alive is to put back into it. South Jackson just happens to be an area that has fallen on some hard times, but there is still some hope,” Lewis said. “You can see that there’s some hope because of what we’re trying to do here in this particular area.”

As someone with a law enforcement background, Lewis said the area has all the right ingredients to attract crime.

That’s why cleaning it up is personal for him because it doesn’t reflect the city he’s spent his whole life living in.

“We want to work with the city and get the city to hold abandoned landlords accountable,” he said.

Councilman Aaron Banks said the area has been on his radar since it was first brought to his attention.

However, every time he asks about addressing issues in his ward with department heads, he said he gets the same email from Jackson’s Chief of Staff saying – any requests of city employees regarding city business must go through the Mayor’s office.

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