Saturday, September 19, 2026Got a tip?

The Jackson Wire

Business, economics, and what is coming next in Jackson.

Development tracker

The Pipeline

Every development project, bond, rate case, and ballot question the Wire is tracking in metro Jackson, with the dates that will decide them. Read this to see what is coming before it is announced.

Projects tracked

8

Dates on the calendar

6

Next decision

Oct 1, 2026

New fiscal year begins for Jackson and Hinds County. The city's flat budget and the county's 1.5-mill increase take effect.

Projects, by stage

Under construction

Amazon Web Services data center campuses

Developer
Amazon Web Services
Where
Madison County, with related sites in Ridgeland, Clinton, and Warren County
Money
About $25B disclosed
Status
Construction is under way. A 25-year water and wastewater agreement with Ridgeland, effective March 18, 2025, sets Amazon's peak-day draw at 82 percent of the city's total use and routes 1.8 million gallons a day of cooling wastewater into Jackson's West Bank interceptor.
What's next
Whether JXN Water and Ridgeland put a shortage-priority clause in writing.

Opening soon

McNair Davis Planetarium reopening

Developer
City of Jackson; operated by the Mississippi Museum of Art
Where
Downtown Jackson
Money
$23M renovation
Status
The city transferred operations to the Mississippi Museum of Art in July 2026. Reopening was expected about six months later, once digital screens go in.
What's next
Reopening in early 2027.

Approved

Prado Vista and the Madison County Conference Center

Developer
Gabriel Prado (private); Madison County (venue)
Where
77 acres off I-55 near Sunnybrook Road, Ridgeland
Money
$100M private, plus $48M county urban renewal bonds
Status
Supervisors authorized the $48 million bond issue for an 1,800-person conference center on a 3-2 vote on Sept. 8, 2026, over objections about the land appraisal and a $10 conveyance clause. The private side adds a 250-room hotel and four restaurants.
What's next
Bond sale and a public construction schedule.

Hinds County criminal justice facility

Developer
Hinds County Board of Supervisors
Where
Hinds County
Money
Funded in part by a 1.5-mill tax increase (about $2.3M a year)
Status
Supervisors adopted the FY2027 budget on Sept. 10, 2026 with a 1.5-mill increase, and the new jail is the single largest reason the county gave for needing the money.
What's next
Design, site, and total cost have not been made public.

Proposed

Prado AI off-grid campus

Developer
Prado AI / Gabriel Prado
Where
Undisclosed Jackson-metro site
Status
The Public Service Commission declined to issue the declaratory ruling Prado sought in Docket 2026-AD-10, calling the request premature. Mississippi Power and Entergy Mississippi intervened.
What's next
An off-grid generation permit application, which both utilities oppose.

Stalled

Saxum data center rezoning

Developer
Saxum Investment Group (New Jersey)
Where
About 230 acres along Forest Avenue Extension, northwest Jackson
Status
The city's planning director said rezoning hearings will keep being postponed until Jackson adopts data center regulations. The 183-day moratorium passed July 14, 2026 took effect a month later, and the replacement ordinance was still undrafted in mid-September.
What's next
An ordinance, or the moratorium's expiration in February 2027 with nothing to replace it.

Pipeline coverage