The Jackson City Council voted 6-0 Monday to rezone three parcels behind the Metrocenter Mall from mixed use to industrial, even though Hinds County records and the secretary of state’s office show two of the lots became state-owned after years of unpaid property taxes.
The rezoning clears a key regulatory hurdle for Christopher Jones, a South Carolina businessman who through BioCrete Global Manufacturing wants to build a small facility to make recycled plastic foam and concrete blocks behind the abandoned mall. Jones has told Mississippi Today the project would be the first phase of a larger plan to revitalize the area and could create about 200 jobs.
The Hinds County landroll shows the two parcels were struck to the state in 2023 after no bids were received at a tax sale, and the secretary of state’s office confirmed Monday that the state owns the lots. Jones faces losing a third parcel this fall if he does not pay back taxes, the landroll shows, and he has filed suit against Hinds County and the state seeking to regain the properties, Mississippi Today reported.
Jones told the council he has paid some taxes but is awaiting litigation before paying the remainder, and several of his trainees applauded after the vote, Mississippi Today said. At the meeting he said, “We are not in danger of not doing what we say we are going to do,” according to Mississippi Today. The county is not contesting the lawsuit, but the state attorney general’s office filed a March 6 motion arguing Jones knew of the tax obligations and therefore should not claim he lacked notice. The motion, filed by Nancy Morse Parkes, said Jones was “coming to the Court with unclean hands.”
Ward 5 Councilman Vernon Hartley said he did not question the tax status because Jones submitted a warranty deed with his rezoning application showing a 2022 purchase. Ward 2 Councilwoman Tina Clay said she would have voted for the rezoning even if she had known about the delinquent taxes, saying the zoning could help another developer if Jones’ plan fails. Zoning administrator Ester Ainsworth said the city’s legal department discussed the unpaid taxes with Jones but that city records still show him as the owner.
County landrolls show Jones paid about $1,900 on one parcel last fall but still owed nearly $20,000 in total, and Jones has argued he never received proper notice before the tax sale, a common claim in Mississippi tax-forfeiture cases, Mississippi Today reported. Metrocenter, a 1.25 million-square-foot mall that opened in 1978, closed completely in 2022 after decades of decline.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
