NATCHEZ, Miss. – The Board of Aldermen has expanded city tax breaks to encourage more Natchez property owners to renovate buildings and houses in the central business district and nearby residential areas.
This “should open the city up to more development,” Mayor Dan Gibson said Tuesday as the board adopted the new tax-abatement measure.
This comes as city officials continue negotiations to sell a Natchez landmark — the old Margaret Martin school — to developers who plan to restore the 94-year-old building.
It lets businesses and homeowners not have to pay higher city property taxes based on the increased value of newly improved structures. The tax exemption would be for seven years. This would not apply to the ad valorem taxes property owners pay to support Natchez-Adams County public schools.
While the city has had such a tax incentive in place since 1999, it was considered too limited, restrictive and underutilized for the city’s downtown historic area. In revising the city tax ordinance on Tuesday, aldermen widened it to cover more sections of town. They also lowered to $5,000 the amount of money a property owner would have to spend on improvements to be eligible for the tax exemption. The previous amount was $20,000.
Among the first to take advantage of the city’s newly revised tax incentive could be the owners of Dunleith, who have been negotiating with Natchez officials to purchase the city-owned Margaret Martin building adjacent to the Homochitto Street resort. While the prospective buyers had offered to give the city $75,000 for the old school building, aldermen on Tuesday made a counterproposal of $105,000 plus the new tax-abatement measure.
Natchez resident Mike Blattner and New Orleans hotelier Joe Jaeger bought the Dunleith estate in 2019 and plan to soon reopen the 1856 mansion and its restaurant for overnight guests, diners and events. They want to buy the adjacent Margaret Martin school property to make it part of their ventures at Dunleith. Plans previously presented call for the old school building to be used for various events, overnight accommodations, a cooking school and other potential utilizations.
A state-designated historic landmark built in 1927 as Natchez High School, the Gothic Revival/Tudor-style structure needs extensive restorations and repairs that have been estimated to cost as much as $6 million.
Named after Natchez teacher and principal Margaret Martin, it closed decades ago as a junior-high school, and in 1999 became the main site of the annual Natchez Festival of Music. The city, festival organization and state Department of Archives and History have struggled to come up with funds over the years to properly maintain and repair the Margaret Martin Performing Arts Center. City officials have tried to sell it in recent years, but deals fell through.
Jaeger heads the J Collection, a New Orleans-based company that operates 17 southern hotels and resorts that include the Maison Dupuy Hotel in New Orleans and nearby Nottoway Plantation.
Comments