Jones Lumber
Natchez, Mississippi (Adams County)
Local, family-owned business invests in revitalizing their low-income community by acquiring and renovating a declining lumber mill and creating high-quality jobs, while reactivating the mill and spurring needed economic activity.
The Project
Family-owned, Mississippi-based Jones Companies (Jones) has a strong track record of working to revitalize rural areas of Mississippi by creating jobs with good wages and training programs that drive wage progression.
Seeking to expand its lumber milling operations, Jones acquired, renovated, and equipped an existing 200,000 SF lumber mill plus 75,000 SF of out-buildings in Natchez, an area with 31% poverty and unemployment nearly 2 times the national average. The project allowed the mill to add two additional lines running 24 hours a day, substantially increasing production and generating economic activity in this disinvested rural community.
Community Impact
- 45 jobs created and 60 retained, plus 12 construction jobs created.
- 100% local hiring from the area’s low-income communities in partnership with the Natchez WIN Job Center.
- Strong focus on minority hiring with over 60% of new hires expected to be minority.
- Ongoing workforce training including continuing professional education, leadership development, and training to operate technology, software, forklifts, and 18-wheelers.
Financing
- Total Project Costs: $24.7 million
- Total Federal New Markets Allocation Secured: $18.5 million
- Total State New Markets Allocation Secured: $7.2 million
Project Partners
- Renaissance Community Loan Fund
- Hancock Whitney Bank
- Jones Companies
