Longtime Jackson businessman looking to buy the Pink House, hoping to breathe new life into the Fondren Area

JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) - Jackson’s last abortion clinic closed its doors this week following the Supreme Court’s controversial decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

While the clinic was operating, people for and against abortions were often seen and heard expressing their beliefs outside the Pink House.

However, with the clinic now closing its doors, things will look and sound a lot different in the neighborhood.

“The whole neighborhood has been waiting for this day,” said Mike Peters, a longtime Jackson businessman who’s looking to buy the building.

Peters also owns Fondren Corner, which is directly across the street from the abortion clinic, and said he knows just how challenging things have been for businesses in the area.

“This has hurt them, not from a political standpoint or any of that, but just all of the turmoil has hurt, and so I felt a need to try to buy it,” he said. “Hopefully, put something else in here that’s noncontroversial, and that will give them a chance just to do business in peace.”

Peters said the idea of buying the building started becoming a reality when he realized the possibility of the clinic being shut down due to Roe v. Wade being overturned.

“She (the owner of the clinic) reached out to me and said would you be interested in buying it,” Peters recalled. “We’d been talking about it for a month, and finally, we put the deal together.”

When it comes to his plan for the building, the Jackson businessman is still figuring things out.

“I don’t really have one,” he said.

However, whatever business does go in the building, Peters said his goal is to have it be something that’ll be positive and breathe new life into the Fondren community.

“I’ll take a lot of input from the neighborhood,” Peters explained. “What they might like to see, what they might want to have happen, and we’ll try to put that together with somebody that’s interested in doing something with it that would be a good fit.”

Peters said this isn’t a done deal yet, although things are getting close to being finalized.

“I have contracted to buy the Pink House, haven’t closed on it officially, but we will be closing on it in the near future,” said Peters. “I’ll actually write her a check probably sometime next month. Then it’ll be officially mine.”

Peters said he doesn’t have a timeline on when he expects to close on the deal.

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