NATCHEZ &045; Aldermen voted Tuesday to enter into an option agreement with Edward Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr. to buy the old Natchez Pecan Factory site for $500,000 for a condo development.

Under the proposal they submitted to the city a month ago, Worley and Brown would spend $19.3 million to develop a building of 75 for-sale luxury condos at the blufftop site.

The pair, in their proposal, estimated starting construction within six months after a purchase contract is signed, with construction done in a single phase lasting about 18 months.

The development, as the pair envisions it, would include covered parking, a clubhouse and pool, tenant storage areas, an exercise room, patios and decks.

The pair will put up a $50,000 deposit as part of the option agreement.

The property was appraised at $714,000, but the board believes the project will serve as the catalyst for additional riverfront activity by other developers, more than making up for the discounted purchase price, Brown said.

Under state law, since the price was discounted, the city must spend the money it gets for the property on improvements around the site. Brown said that could include improving parking in the area.

Brown said in a previous interview the city is selling the property instead of leasing it &uot; mostly because it’s hard to tell a bank you want (such a large) loan over 35 years.&uot;

By the pair’s own figures, more than 3,000 condos are already being developed in other parts of Mississippi &045; including a complex being developed by Bruce and Karen Lewis at the Canal Street Depot site.

And low interest rates, among others factors, are spurring condo development, especially on the East, West and Gulf coasts.

So what assurances does the city have the development will come to fruition? In their proposal, Worley and Brown said they’ve done their homework.

&uot;Our feasibility studies and financial projections were completed by seasoned developers of numerous comparable projects who have visited this site as recently as one week ago,&uot; they wrote in the proposed dated May 27.

Worley and Brown have estimated 75 percent of the condos will be sold to out-of-towners as primary or second homes.

Others submitting proposals included Alan Fuqay of Houston; Robert Johnson of Pecan Development LLC; James M. Biglane; and Richard A. Edgin, Glenn Green and Johnny Waycaster of Broadway Properties LLC.