JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) – There’s a push from Mississippi lawmakers and Jackson Mayor John Horhn to get more state agencies and life back to the downtown area.

Horhn provided several state senators with an overview of the capital city.

“He’s looking at all facets of city government, and it’s going to be important for him to be able to whittle it down to a few issues that he thinks we can help him with in the upcoming session,” said State Senator Walter Michel (R-District 25).

State lawmakers said they want to help Jackson revive the downtown area.

“We want tourists to come to Jackson. We want people to live in downtown Jackson. The state has a lot of office space that we rent in the metro Jackson area, and office space in downtown Jackson is very reasonable,” stated Michel.

According to Horhn, Kumar Bhavanasi, a real estate developer from New Jersey, bought the Pinnacle building and its garage.

“He’s also bought the art deco portion of the old Deposit Guarantee Bank building, and he’s bought the Regents Plaza,” said Horhn.

During Monday’s meeting, Horhn told lawmakers they should listen to State Senator David Blount’s (D-District 29) suggestions. According to Blount, he filed his first bill 14 years ago, working with then-Lt. Governor Tate Reeves (R-Miss.).

“The idea is very simple. It’s a win-win proposition to move state agencies that are paying high rents into Jackson to pay less rent. It saves the taxpayers of the state of Mississippi money, and it brings people downtown to revitalize downtown Jackson,” said Blount.

He said there’s no doubt efforts like this could save taxpayers millions of dollars. Blount said the State Senate passed Senate Bill 2291 in the 2025 Session and are already talking with the State House to see if they can also pass the bill in the 2026 Legislation Session.