GREATER BELHAVEN NEIGHBORHOOD

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Do Belhaven or Belhaven Heights have restrictive covenants?

The Greater Belhaven Foundation is not a Home Owner's Association (HOA) and we do not have HOA covenants. However, our neighborhood is a nationally and locally recognized Historic District. The City of Jackson has a Historic District Ordinance which requires certain rehabilitations, alterations,  or new developments in our neighborhoods to be first approved by the City's Historic Preservation Commission (HPC). For more on what specific work  or exterior changes require a Certificate of Approval (COA) by the City's HPC, visit our website or contact the City's Senior Planner Eric Lewis.  Interestingly, Belvoir Place was developed much later in the history of the neighborhood and did develop its own covenants at its inception. 

What's going on with the Grocery Store?

When English Village was sold to Gabriel Prado, GBF put together a market analysis of the property including traffic count and other elements that grocer retailers look for when identifying a new location. We shared that report with Mr. Prado and sat down to meet with him at his office. We also shared with him the importance to our neighborhood of not only this historic site but of having a grocery store in our footprint and he was very receptive to our conversation and concerns. We continue to seek helpful information and contacts that we can share with Mr. Prado as he develops plans for this space. At this time, we do not know what these future plans entail.  See the full report here. If you have information or contacts to share, please let us know.

Can the Greater Belhaven Foundation force property owners to care for their homes or yard? 

We can try!  All properties in the City are governed by the City's Code Enforcement Ordinances. The Greater Belhaven Foundation works hard to remind property owners of these requirements through our newsletters, social media, door hangers and annual mailers. We also send individual notices to properties that are particularly problematic notifying them of these ordinances and how their property is in violation. We report properties in violation to the City through their 311 App. We celebrate those individuals who exhibit exceptional care for their homes and yards through our Yard of the Month program. For more information on how Code Enforcement at the City works, reference our May newsletter and read onto the article below. 

What is the Greater Belhaven Security Association (GBSA)?

GBSA was an association started by a motivated and dedicated Belhaven neighbor many years ago in order to organize security efforts. In 2026 GBSA legally dissolved and no longer operates. GBF handles all coordinated security efforts for the neighborhood through our Security Committee, including facilitating paid Capitol Police Patrols, installing security cameras, repairing and installing lighting and more. If you are interested in security you can make a contribution to the Foundation restricted to security or reach out to our Security Committee Chair, Ty Hardy.

What is the Belhaven Improvement Association (BIA)?

BIA was an association started by a Belhaven neighbor many years ago to facilitate beautification projects and other initiatives that would enhance the neighborhood. This organization has legally dissolved and no longer operates. GBF handles all coordinated beautification and improvement initiatives like landscaping and hardscaping neighborhood entrances, street closures, facilitating cleanup days and more. If you are interested in beautification, you can make a contribution to the Foundation restricted to beautification, volunteer for our cleanup efforts, or reach out to our Director, Mary Alex Thigpen.

GBF ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Greater Belhaven became the first neighborhood in Jackson to tackle comprehensive rezoning since 1974, which resulted in the plan for a mixed-use district featuring fewer curb-cuts, wider sidewalks, and heavily landscaped parking lots (2005)

• Greater Belhaven Foundation supported an amendment to the City Zoning Ordinance to allow the Fairview Inn to operate on a residential street in Belhaven
• Historic Preservation Ordinance provides oversight of the historic districts of Belhaven and Belhaven Heights through the Jackson Historic Preservation Commission (JHPC) (1996)
• Design guidelines were developed for both Belhaven and Belhaven Heights to enable the JHPC to make decisions regarding historic properties (2002)
• Comprehensive Development Plan was adopted 2002-2005; established three categories of mixed-use districts from neighborhood, community, to regional districts, resulting in major redevelopment that includes restaurants, retail, condominiums, and offices
• Mixed-Use District along Fortification Street and along part of North State Street was adopted by the city, making it the first such district in Jackson (2005)
• Baptist Health Systems opened The Belhaven, an 180,000 square-foot, $80 million mixed-use development providing medical offices, space for restaurants and shops, and 11 townhouses  (2013)
• Belhaven Park underwent a $300,000 redesign to create a hub for community gatherings, performances, festivals, and exercise (2010)
• Fortification Street Project, a road diet that reduced the number of travel lanes from four to three to allow for five foot sidewalks, decorative lighting, and a planting strip; the project is currently ongoing
• Riverside Drive underwent a full reconstruction in 2023

Greater Belhaven Community Amenities

• Fairview Inn is the only AAA four-diamond, small luxury hotel in Jackson, located in a historic 1908 Colonial Revival mansion; one of the few architect-designed homes of that period remaining in the neighborhood

• Welty House was the home of Pulitzer Prize-winning author Eudora Welty from 1925 until her death in 2001; it is one of the most intact literary houses in America in terms of authenticity

• New Stage Theatre is Jackson's only professional theater and Mississippi's only nonprofit professional theater; the theater was founded in 1965 and attracts more than 35,000 people each year to contemporary works and classics

• Warehouse Theatre is owned and operated by New Stage; provides an alternative theater experience and attracts audiences interested in contemporary theater

• The adjacent LeFleur Museum District brings together four museums, the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, Mississippi Children's Museum, Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum, and Mississippi Museum of Natural Science  

• Municipal Art Gallery is a beautiful antebellum home that was converted into a gallery to showcase the works of Mississippi artists

• The neighborhood is home to two higher education institutions, Belhaven University and Millsaps College

• The neighborhoods contains three parks and miles of walking and biking trails: Belhaven Park, Laurel Street Park, and Belhaven Heights Park
  
  
  

Read our application to the National Registry of Historic Places!