NATCHEZ, Miss. (Oct. 12) – City officials today formally sold the old Margaret Martin school building to the owners of Dunleith, who plan to renovate the historic structure for hotel rooms, musical performances and a luxurious spa.
Planning should begin early next year for “complete renovations from the inside out,” said Dunleith co-owner Mike Blattner.
“We’re looking forward to it. It’s going to be a long road,” he said.
Mayor Dan Gibson noted it’s been a long-held ambition for many Natchezians to renovate the 94-year-old, deteriorated building on Homochitto Street.
Now, after $1 million spent to refurbish the adjacent Dunleith estate, Blattner and business partner Joe Jaeger are now “ready to bring Margaret Martin back,” Gibson said.
Negotiations between city officials and the businessmen have been ongoing since last year for selling the city-owned building. They agreed on a final purchase price of $105,000 along with a tax break that has the owners not having to pay more property taxes based on the increased value of the improved building.
Gibson, Natchez aldermen, Blattner and others held a ceremony today in front of the Margaret Martin building for signing deed documents and presenting a check finalizing the sale.
Blattner, a Natchez resident, and, Jaeger, a New Orleans hotelier, bought Dunleith in 2019 and recently reopened the 1856 mansion, restaurant and other accommodations for overnight guests, diners and events. Jaeger heads the J Collection, which operates 17 southern hotels and resorts that include the Maison Dupuy Hotel in New Orleans and nearby Nottoway Plantation.
A state-designated historic landmark built in 1927 as Natchez High School, the Margaret Martin building is a Gothic Revival/Tudor-style structure that needs extensive restoration and repairs that have been estimated to cost as much as $6 million.
It was renamed after Natchez teacher and principal Margaret Martin when it became a junior high school in the 1960s and later closed when the public school system was downsized. The building became the main venue for the annual Natchez Festival of Music in 1999. Blattner said the festival can continue to use the facility.
The city, festival organization and state Department of Archives and History have struggled to come up with funds over the years to maintain and restore the building. City officials had tried to sell it in recent years, but deals fell through. Requests for state funds from the Mississippi Legislature also got rebuffed.
“We will no longer carry that burden,” Gibson said of the weight placed on the city in keeping Margaret Martin.
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