NATCHEZ &8212; A proposal Edward Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr. submitted for the old Pecan Factory site didn&8217;t offer the biggest purchase price, but it proposed the largest dollar investment for the property &8212; and all in one phase.

That&8217;s according to copies of the proposals and related documents obtained by The Natchez Democrat Wednesday as the result of a public records request filed last month with the City Clerk&8217;s Office.

The offer was accepted by Mayor Phillip West and the Board of Aldermen because it offered the biggest dollar amount of investment &8220;and all in one phase,&8221; City Attorney Walter Brown said.

While the city said in its request for proposals those proposals would be kept confidential, it said it would do so only to the extent allowed by state law.

But the State of Mississippi doesn&8217;t include in its open records law an exemption for such proposals &8212; meaning anyone willing to submit a written request and pay copying fees can ask for and receive such documents.

Those who submitted proposals to the city for purchase and use of the former Natchez Pecan Factory site included:

4James Biglane offered $650,000 for the site and said that he would &8220;develop the property for potential residential use &8212; such as a complex of condominiums, townhouses, single family, etc.&8221;

4Robert L. Johnson, principal of Pecan Development LLC, offered $528,000 for the site. Construction of the Pecan Ridge Riverview Development would have begun with a year of the close of the option agreement and have been finished within two years of the closing of the purchase agreement.

Johnson proposed developing the property with up to 32 condos in four to five buildings of up to four stories each but with varying facades and materials to fit in with surrounding structures and the city&8217;s design guidelines. He also proposed building a park, restaurants, a coffee shop and stores with convenience goods, for a total investment of anywhere from $6 million to $16 million.

4Broadway Development Partners, including Fred Callon, Michael Cates, Richard Edgin Jr., William Gillon III, Glenn Green, David Paradise, Ron Riches and Johnny Waycaster. The partners offered $350,000 cash with no option consideration.

Their plan would have consisted of six phases totaling $7 million to $9 million.

The phases, in order, would have been: cleaning and repairing the property; developing 15 condos at the north end of the factory building, with 30 parking spaces; building 15 more condos at the north end parallel with Madison Street; renovating the Pecan Factory for retail, museum and/or restaurant use; constructing an open landscaped area with a modern interpretation of a 1830 lighthouse that stood on the site; and unspecified development of nearby properties along the bluff and across Broadway Street.

Phases 2 and 3 would be contingent upon the pre-sale of 15 units within one year.

4Alan Fuqua of Magdalene Properties LLC of Houston offered $275,000 for the site, with 10 percent of that put up as option money. Natchez Pecan Estates would have included eight to 12 townhouses and a gift-coffee shop, with 19th-century external design.

4Edward Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr. offered $500,000 for the site, with 10 percent put up as option money. Worley-Brown, according to their proposal, plan to build 75 condos with possible commercial space in a single phase of construction to begin within six months of closing a purchase deal. The $19.3 million development would include covered parking, a clubhouse and pool, tenant storage areas, an exercise room, patios and deck areas.

&8220;Pedestrian access along the edge of the bluff will not only be preserved, but enhanced,&8221; they stated in their proposal. &8220;Design and construction will complement and otherwise be sensitive to the beauty and historical significance of downtown Natchez.&8221;

Construction would take 18 months, with a projected completion date of Sept. 30, 2007.

Real estate appraiser Bob Gavin of Natchez appraised the property at $714,900, according to figures sent to Walter Brown in June.

However, in a request for proposals to buy and develop the site, the city mentioned a figure of $500,000.

&8220;The City of Natchez is not at this time setting a minimum price for the sale of the property, but will consider the purchase price, proposed development, total investment and timeline&8221; in selecting a proposal, the city&8217;s request for proposals read. &8220;The City does suggest, however, that it would prefer to consider a purchase price of not less than $500,000.&8221;

That figure was suggested by Mayor Phillip West, Walter Brown said.

In its option agreement with Worley-Brown, the city did commit to provide water and sewer service to the development; pay for the underground relocation of any overhead utilities, up to $50,000 and build an improved and lighted public walkway along the west side of Broadway Street from the Bluff Park area south of Cock of the Walk to Madison Street and then north of the property to Learned&8217;s Mill Road.

Such improvements would cost about $150,000 to $200,000, Walter Brown said.

In the option agreement, the city promised to give Worley-Brown an exemption from all city ad valorem taxes except those used for school purposes and to do its best to encourage Adams County supervisors to grant a similar exemption.