Alexandria, Virginia has lost 90% of its affordable homes since 2000. HILOA is positioned to build an affordable 20 unit building in Alexandria. The Alexandria site is a 10k square foot parcel in Old Town at the corner of Pendleton and Henry Streets. There is an existing building on the lot that will have to be demolished to make room for the new multifamily structure.
The 20 unit building will be named the Corrine Jackson Lee Dixon Affordable Homes
Over 100 years ago in 1917, 39-year-old John Wesley Jackson purchased a building at 1022 Pendleton Street at the corner of Henry Street. This building was a multi-purpose building serving the Jackson family- Emancipation Day celebrations, community meetings and political debates. Mr. Jackson’s rooming house was used during the Jim Crow era and Civil Rights movement as a hotel housing African Americans who could not find segregated facilities to rent when they were traveling. Mr. Jackson’s daughter, Corrine, shared her story about Elijah Muhammad, the founder of the Nation of Islam who stayed at their family home as a guest. Elijah Muhammad became a famous Nation of Islam leader. Many well-known African Americans stayed at Mr. Jackson’s place when they had business or were traveling through Alexandria. Local celebrities like Magnus Robinson who was the Grand Marshal of the Universal Lodge #1, the founder of a newspaper in Washington, D.C., and the president of McKinley Industrial School on Madison Street in Alexandria, rented 3 rooms at Mr. Jackson’s house for political meetings and other business meetings concerning African Americans.
When Mr. Jackson purchased the building, he obtained a license to use the property as a rooming house and a bakery. This property throughout the years has been used for important events in Alexandria’s African American history. The building had several entrances to the main living quarters and to the bakery: the Pendleton Street side served as a private residence and later as a beauty salon business, and the 521 North Henry Street side served as a bakery/hotel and later as a rooming house. Many people simply called him “Baker Jackson.” He delivered goods from his bakery at wholesale prices to various Alexandria merchants. He was known for his doughnuts, wedding cakes, cookies and lemon, peach, apple and sweet potato pies. Prior to Mr. Jackson’s opening his business, he worked for K Fuchs Bakery at Prince and West streets.
John W. Jackson was born on Jan. 15, 1878. His first wife was Ella and his second wife was named Corrine.
John Wesley “Baker” Jackson’s daughter, Corrine Jackson was a successful business woman. Her first career was in her father’s bakery as a young child. After graduating from school, she pursued a clerical job in the Federal government. She married her first husband, Emmett Cornelius Lee in Danville, Virginia on January 26, 1946. After having a short career in the Federal Government, she pursued a career in real estate. Just like her father, Corrine became a very successful business woman in real estate.
After the death of Corrine’s first husband, she married again on April 8, 1972 to Urquhart Oliver Dixon. Corrine outlived her parents, siblings, two husbands and a child. She was very active in her community and was a member of many organizations including the Alexandria Chapter of the NAACP. She enjoyed traveling. Corrine Jackson-Lee Dixon died in 2015, leaving her daughter and grandchildren behind.