North Natchez Park Youth Center - John Mott Coffey
NATCHEZ, Miss. –A construction company has been contracted for about $350,000 to renovate the North Natchez Park Youth Center’s exterior and gut the interior for future work inside of what city officials consider a historic structure.
While more money is needed to redo the building’s interior, the work approved Friday is “a great first step” in rehabilitating the recreational facility, said Mayor Dan Gibson.
Natchez aldermen approved Smith Painting & Contracting’s bid to do the job that’s among the major projects underway for improving city parks. Smith’s proposal was the lowest of two bids submitted to renovate the dilapidated youth center, which is located near Robert Lewis Magnet School on Martin Luther King Road.
Natchez architect Johnny Waycaster said the building is severely deteriorated. “It’s about to fall down,” he told the board and mayor.
Restoring its exterior and demolishing its interior is costing nearly $350,000, but the total reconstruction cost — including rebuilding the inside — is projected to be nearly $825,000, according to the proposal submitted by Smith.
The board will decide later how to fund the total renovation.
Alderman Dan Dillard noted the $825,000 is far more costly than previously estimated. He cited concerns this potentially taking money away from other park-improvement projects. He expressed support for renovating the youth center, but “not at all costs.”
Alderman Billie Joe Frazier said the higher-than-expected expense “is one of those unfortunate things, but that’s the cost of doing business.”
In pointing to the North Natchez Park Youth Center’s historic significance and worthiness of being restored, Gibson noted it once was the only public community facility for Black youth to gather when Natchez was racially segregated.
City officials have asked the state Department of Archives and History to declare it a state historic landmark, which could make it eligible for future state grants.
They’ve also requested state landmark status for the Duncan Park Golf Clubhouse and old carriage house-barn by the park’s tennis courts. These are included in the city’s refurbishment of recreational facilities.
The Board of Aldermen last year borrowed $2 million through bonds to upgrade city parks. The park projects include improving the youth center and restoring the deteriorating golf clubhouse. Ballfield upgrades and new tennis courts, playground equipment and other recreational accessories are also in the works.
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The Board of Aldermen will seek state historic preservation funds for repairing the city’s Memorial Park fountain, renovating the old streetcar waiting station on Cemetery Road and helping support the Natchez Museum of African-American Culture and History.
The state Department of Archives and History has about $8,600 in leftover preservation funds the city will try to get. This would require Natchez to match that with another $8,600.
If the grant is awarded, the city could use the $17,200 to repair a leaking crack in the Main Street park fountain and repaint it; restore the 1911 streetcar shelter by the city cemetery; donate to the Natchez Museum of African-American Culture and History.
The mayor and Board of Aldermen convened Friday at the Main Street museum for their annual meeting held there “as a statement of the importance of African-American history,” Gibson said.
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Natchez aldermen approved a car body shop’s request to do business on the old Moose Lodge property at John R. Junkin Drive. It had to be rezoned since it previously was just for residential usage. McDonald Collision plans to use the fraternal organization’s former property and building to store and repair vehicles, said city Planner Frankie Legaux.
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