The full statement from Natchez Mayor Phillip West at Monday’s board of aldermen meeting:

Special called meeting of mayor and board of aldermen to discuss our interest in Worley Brown proposed development of condominiums on city-owned property, the old Pecan Factory site.

We want the Historic and Preservation Commission to know of the city’s overwhelming interest in bringing this proposal to fruition in a timely manner.

There has been no person, group of persons, corporation, etc., willing to invest 19 million dollars in our community for any reason since IP, over 50 years ago.

Mr. Worley and Mr. Brown are persons who love our city and are committed to helping revitalize our city by their actions, not lip service, and I appreciate them.

Both understand and are committed to development that blends in aesthetically with our historic character as evidenced by the restoration and development of Dunleith, and having already spent millions of dollars in the community they love.

On last Monday I witnessed a biased process where rules were changed to help facilitate, in my opinion, a vilification and lynching of persons who love Natchez and want to continue to invest in our future. I believe it was wrong and certainly unfair and as mayor of this city I apologize.

I believe there are persons involved in opposing this proposal because they genuinely want what they believe to be the best product for this particular site. I certainly respect your view. But I also believe there are persons opposing this project whose agenda is to have no development of this area whatsoever or wanting this property personally for their own pet project, while using the cover of &uot;historical guidelines&uot; and preservation to torpedo this proposal. It is deceitful and wrong.

Worley Brown have consistently said on numerous occasions they are willing to work with all concerned regarding the architectural and aesthetic design of this proposed development. So the real issue here is not the design but the height. For the past several years, the mayor and board of aldermen have been actively pursuing the development of a convention center hotel to be built on city-owned property located across from the convention center. In order to accomplish this, we have concluded there is a need of a 70′ to 75′ height allowance to make a hotel feasible for the minimum number of rooms we want. I personally feel there should be nothing less for this proposed condominium development. I believe in the value of historic preservation in this city, for it is one of our most important assets. There should not be, but when there is a collision between the past and the future, it is my duty and responsibility as mayor to build for the future.

This proposed 19 million dollar investment should turn over several times, bring in approximately $300,000 in taxes, create desperately needed jobs, increase the property values in the immediate and adjacent areas, spur the quality investments and developments in the downtown area and send a message to potential investors: Natchez is ready for progress, Natchez is truly open for quality business to locate in our community.