By LaReeca Rucker
lrucker@mcherald.com

CANTON | Thousands of jobs were created by the newly opened Nissan plant with more to follow. A new study shows that, as a result, the city will need to make room for 400 additional housing units.

Inez Dixon, executive director of Canton Ministries Inc., a Community housing Development Organization, said the study evaluates Nissan's potential impact on the city's housing market.

"The biggest thing is that the housing situation in Canton was made a little bit worse with Nissan coming on the scene," Dixon said. "For the first year or so, it probably won't have a big impact, but in the next few years, we will be getting some of that influx."

Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the report, completed by Robert L. Barber and Associates Community Design and Planning firm of Olive Branch, represents an analysis of the predicted impact of Nissan on the Canton housing market over the next five to seven years. It also identifies barriers and offers strategies that will reduce them.

The median household income for those living in Canton is around $7,000 less than the state and $22,733 less than Madison County as a whole.

"We found that a lot of the income does not support affordable housing," said Dixon. "In other words, people are not able to buy housing with the income they make and they will need government subsides to get into a home of their home."

Bob Barber and his partner, Shelly Johnstone, conducted the study.

"We were asked by Canton Ministries and the Mississippi Home Corp. to assess the housing market in Canton pre and post Nissan," Barber said. "In doing that, we identified a future demand for housing within the Canton city limits and also identified some barriers the city needs to resolve in order to meet that demand."

Some of those constraints include land availability, crime concerns and school accreditation rankings.

Canton's land availability is a concern because the city has approximately 3,700 acres of land located in a flood plain.

Crime is another issue. Although Mississippi edges above the national average for all crimes, the study said Madison County and Canton are below the United States average, except for the crime of murder in which Madison County and Canton exceed the national average.

And because of the Canton Public School District's lower accreditation ranking of 2, people moving into the area may be more inclined to relocate somewhere else.

The study said the city school district is competing directly with the Madison County School District, which has a Class 5 accreditation and significantly more offerings like Advanced Placement classes, honors classes and higher standardized test scores.

Barber's firm provided a set of recommendations for Canton Ministries and the city, some which require the two entities to work together and with other housing organizations in the area.

"One of the key recommendations was that a housing round-table be formed," said Barber. Those chosen to be part of it would work to outline community and neighborhood goals.

"Those specific goals would be assigned and that group would meet monthly for accountability," he said. "It's absolutely vital that someone take a lead role in doing that in Canton, otherwise the city is not going to be in a position of reaping all the benefits it could from Nissan."

Barber's firm offered the following solutions for local leaders: