In the sweltering Saturday afternoon heat, Jackson Mayor John Horhn stood in the parking lot of the deteriorating Blossom Apartments listening to tenant Chante Vaxter explain why a five-day eviction window isn’t enough.
Vaxter, who uses an electric wheelchair, told him that moving takes longer than city officials and aid agencies seem to realize, especially for someone with mobility challenges and enough belongings “to fill a house.”
“I feel like I’m homeless, I ain’t got nowhere to go,” Vaxter told Horhn. “People gotta find storage, you gotta find money to pay for storage because you just can’t move overnight, this is not an overnight thing.”
Jackson Mayor John Horhn, standing alongside members of the Jackson Fire Department, the Jackson Police Department and Stacy Patrick, a resident of Blossom Apartments, addresses reporters during a press conference Saturday, August 9, 2025 in Jackson, Miss. Horhn called the press conference to address the ongoing situation at Blossom Apartments, a complex in South Jackson that had it’s water shut-off for nonpayment of outstanding water bills in late-July.
Horhn spoke to Vaxter moments after addressing reporters at a press conference he called to discuss the city’s response to the crisis at Blossom Apartments. As he spoke, the complex’s remaining residents drifted over from their units to listen.
The crisis at Blossom is not unique. Jackson has been grappling with a wave of neglected apartment complexes owned by out-of-town landlords who fall behind on bills and let conditions spiral. Earlier this year at Chapel Ridge Apartments — just a 10-minute drive from Blossom — the owners and former management company effectively walked away, leaving tenants without a dumpster for weeks as piles of rotting trash grew to take over part of the parking lot.
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Background on the eviction
Earlier this week, the Mississippi Home Corporation — the state agency that oversees compliance for low-income housing tax credit properties — issued an eviction order for Blossom Apartments. The agency cited the loss of water service and other health and safety violations, effectively requiring all tenants to leave.
The eviction notice is the latest blow for residents of Blossom Apartments, which is tucked off Woodbine Street in South Jackson. Trash and litter line the roadside leading up to the entrance, and just beyond it, a section of the street is closed after collapsing, leaving a drop where pavement once was.
The complex’s problems that drew media attention began in late July, when JXN Water — the utility headed by Interim Third Party Water Manager Ted Henifin that manages the city’s water system — shut off water service. The complex’s out-of-state owner, Tony Little, owes more than $400,000 in outstanding water bills, a debt he continues to dispute.
Blossom Apartments is a tax credit property — meaning it was built or renovated using federal low-income housing tax credits and must meet certain upkeep and management standards. Horhn said those standards have not been met, and that problems at the complex have persisted “not for weeks, but years.”
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Relocation plans and timeline
After learning of the compliance violation, Horhn contacted U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate — the federal judge overseeing JXN Water as part of a court-ordered takeover of Jackson’s water system after the city’s 2022 water crisis. Horhn asked Wingate to order JXN Water to restore service for five days, giving residents time to “get their affairs in order” before relocating. Wingate approved the request, and water service has been temporarily restored.
As for relocating the remaining residents — which Vaxter estimated could be as many as 100 — Horhn said the costs will be covered by a Mississippi Home Corporation grant to Stewpot, a local nonprofit that offers food, shelter and social services. The funding will cover down payments, first month’s rent for those who qualify and relocation expenses. Region 6 Housing Authority is fast-tracking tenant vouchers, while the Jackson Housing Authority is providing caseworker support and housing placement, Horhn said.
When Vaxter asked how long tenants would have to move, Horhn said the goal is to relocate everyone within five days, though he may ask Wingate for more time if needed.
Additionally, Stewpot has scheduled a relocation assistance meeting from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 12 at its headquarters, 1100 W. Capitol Street, inviting landlords and property owners to meet directly with residents. Some tenants with vouchers have already relocated or are in the process, while others have been offered temporary hotel stays.
How the city responded to the crisis at Blossom
During Blossom’s water shutoff, the Jackson Fire Department delivered potable water daily and provided nonpotable water for sanitation. Officers with the Jackson Police Department distributed bottled water and kept a presence at the complex.
“We’ve been on the job and working to get this matter resolved since day one, and I want to set the record straight on that,” Horhn said.
The Blossom Apartments crisis is one of several cases that led Horhn to create the city’s new “Housing Task Force, formerly known as the “Apartment Task Force.” Its aim is to hold landlords accountable, enforcing housing codes and responding more quickly to tenant complaints. Eleven members have been announced to join the task force, including Stacy Patrick, a resident at Blossom Apartments.
“It’s not an ‘I’ but it’s a ‘we’ because we were a community out here and like they say, ‘nobody left behind,'” Patrick said, adding that she is working with the city and tenants to move residents to safer housing as quickly as possible.
Horhn has pledged to soon release a list of the 15 apartment owners with the largest unpaid water bills. He also wants the Mississippi Legislature to give the city more power to act against noncompliant complexes — including possible civil or criminal penalties or even city takeovers.
Pressed on whether other complexes could face the same fate, Horhn said he hopes not. He pointed to Northwood Village Apartments, which had its water shut off Friday but quickly paid its bill. Henifin has warned as many as five other complexes could run into similar trouble.
Horhn said he hopes if complex owners get a cutoff notice, they “do the right thing” and pay their bill.
Charlie Drape is the Jackson beat reporter. You can contact him at cdrape@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Blossom eviction underscores Jackson MS’ battle with problem landlords