NATCHEZ, Miss. – City aldermen Monday voted down an offer to buy the old Natchez General Hospital.
Mayor Dan Gibson urged the Board of Aldermen to go with Ginger and James Hyland’s proposal to buy the dilapidated, vacant building adjacent to their antebellum estate, but it failed on a 3-2 vote.
Aldermen said the building should be put up for competitive public bidding from others – such as the developer the board previously had a controversial deal with to convert the former hospital into apartments.
However, the board delayed a decision Monday on seeking more propositions for the city-owned property. Alderman Sarah Carter Smith was absent from Monday’s meeting, and, based on her previous votes, would’ve favored selling the building to the Hylands. This would’ve created a 3-3 board tie for the mayor to break in favor of selling it.
Gibson noted residents – including the Hylands — living near the property have opposed the proposed city housing development on Oak and Myrtle streets. More than 50 residents joined in suing the city in two cases that wound up in the Mississippi Court of Appeals. The state court in 2020 threw out their appeals, but the mayor and board last November wound up nullifying the agreement with the private foundation that planned to restore the 96-year-old historic Natchez landmark building into 30 apartment units for elderly residents.
Gibson noted Jackson-based Magnolia Medical Foundation’s plans for the old hospital face overwhelming opposition from Natchez residents, and city officials “have no right to overstep the voices of the neighborhood.”
The mayor also said Magnolia has not provided him sufficient details in recent months on its plans for acquiring the old hospital and financing its redevelopment. The Board of Aldermen in 2017 did have public discussions with Magnolia head Erica Thompson about her foundation’s plans to spend $3.4 million for renovating the building. However, no public board discussions have been held about the Hylands’ plans if they buy the building or how much they’ve offered. They own The Towers, the two-century-old mansion and tourist attraction adjacent to the Natchez General Hospital property.
Aldermen Billie Joe Frazier and Felicia Irving noted Monday that Thompson is black and the Hylands are white. “That’s redlining,” said Irving, referring to the discriminatory practice of fencing blacks out of white neighborhoods.
The Hylands and others have alleged Thompson’s housing development would bring more crime to the area and lower residential property values in the northwest Natchez neighborhood.
Alderman Ben Davis joined Frazier and Irving in voting Monday against starting the process for selling the old hospital to the Hylands. Valencia Hall and Dan Dillard voted in favor of the sale.
It’s uncertain if the board will reconsider the Hylands’ offer and take another vote in July, when the mayor and aldermen hold their next scheduled meeting when Smith is expected to return. Another vote could produce a tie for the mayor to break in favor of the sale.
The city acquired the old hospital in 2013 after the previous owner defaulted on paying taxes. Built in 1925, it was Natchez’ main hospital until 1960.
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