NATCHEZ — Construction work on the Roth Hill Road casino is projected to begin late fall.

Natchez Enterprises President Ted Doody said several things are waiting in the wings to be completed.

“We’re taking steps now to finish up the title work on the property and we intend to execute the option on the lease as soon as the title work is complete,” he said.

City Engineer David Gardner said the company already has an option on the lease.

Doody said executing the option they have means that the lease will actually go into action.

Title work, he said is insuring easements and making sure there are no deed restrictions.

Essentially, it’s being 100 percent sure the city has clear title to the property, Doody said.

“It’s just standard real estate practice,” he said. “It’s nothing special.”

Gardner said that’s a no-brainer.

“It’s going to clear,” he said, though it is the city attorney’s job to do that.

He said this is about a 30-to-45 days process and the company has the intention to execute the lease in early October.

Then, the project needs to move on to get local approvals.

He said this means getting the OK from the various boards and departments in town — engineering, planning commission, preservation commission and aldermen.

“We’ve been redesigning and those are starting to be complete and are getting to the point now where the various administrative review panels can review, assess and comment,” Doody said.

Then the company will face the simple task of getting a building permit.

“I think that will put us in good position to commence construction sometime this fall, late fall,” Doody said.

Two months ago at the grand opening of the Country Inn & Suites, Doody spoke a little about the project and said no plans were going to move forward until after the spring thaw.

The fear was that the Mississippi River would rise again, once more covering the base of Roth Hill Road — an area pivotal in the development of the casino.

The two-story, 40,000 square-foot casino will boast two restaurants, a bar and lounge and an outdoor entertainment and dining section.

It will be amphibious of sorts, being anchored partially on the ground but the rest suspended over the water.

A park is also included in the plan that will tie into the Natchez Trails project.

The entire development has been estimated to be around $50 million.