City Moves Forward with Highland Housing

A beehive of activity has changed the appearance of the proposed site for six houses, to be known as Turner Court.

Crews tested materials in the home for asbestos and other potentially hazardous materials commonly found in older buildings. 

Remediation teams removed the roof and other contaminants in preparation for the forthcoming demolition of the historic structure.

The location at 963 Highland Avenue was the former home of the Turner family and descendants of Judge William Turner, who served as Judge Executive from 1926 to 1933.  More recently, the house was occupied by the Turner and Scott families.

Mayor Laura Thomas and the Jackson City Council approved the purchase of the property from numerous heirs of the Turner family.  The city worked with the state and other agencies to develop housing to replace numerous sites lost during the 2021 and 2022 flooding and through the FEMA Buyout program.

The original plans for Turner Court included eight new houses, but recent plans scaled the project back to six.

Firefighters worked at the site for several days last week, completing the work of clearing the house of debris and removing the trees from the front yard.  Holes and other hazards in the home have been removed to ensure firefighter safety.  A second home, a trailer, on the property has been searched and secured, and a garage structure behind the house has been torn down in preparation for scheduled fire training at the site later this spring.

Fire crews from across the county will train during a “live burn” at the home during which firefighters will set and extinguish numerous small fires over the course of the training day to observe fire patterns and practice entry, extrication, and other firefighting techniques.

No date has been announced for the training.