NATCHEZ, Miss. – Aldermen have agreed to give a shopping center developer another year to decide whether it’ll buy city-owned land near Walmart.
Horne Properties of Tennessee has been making plans the past two years for a Natchez retail center envisioned on the 30-acre tract where the Veterans of Foreign Wars post was located across from Natchez High School.
Meeting Tuesday, the Natchez Board of Aldermen agreed to extend for another year the contracted option the Knoxville-based company has had to buy the city-owned property. The purchase is contingent on resolving various issues, which have included ensuring the proposed shopping center adjacent to Walmart is easily accessible from Seargent Prentiss Drive.
While Mayor Dan Gibson said last year he hoped the development deal would be sealed before February, more time is needed.
“They’re working very hard. They’re doing great things, but it takes time,” Gibson said of the developers’ efforts to turn the project into reality.
Horne has developed more than 140 properties, including shopping centers in Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio, Oklahoma and North Carolina, according to the company’s website. They accommodate such chain stores as Kroger, Home Depot, Petsmart, Staples, Ross Dress for Less – and Walmart.
The Natchez property that Horne has optioned to buy was given to the city in 2015 by the state. The Natchez Board of Aldermen subsequently put it up for sale for an initial asking price of $4.5 million.
State law requires selling the property with revenues to be divided equally between the city, the National Park Service and the Mississippi Department of Archives & History. The money is to be used for unspecified enhancements of the Natchez riverfront, the Natchez National Historical Park and other historic properties.
Gibson last year specified $1.2 million is to be provided for projects at the Grand Village of Natchez Indians and the national park.
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