NATCHEZ — In one move, downtown Natchez will soon get a new hotel and a new bank.

Warren Reuther of New Orleans Hotel Consultants is in the process of purchasing the downtown Regions Bank building and said he hopes to open a 65-room hotel in the 52,000-square-foot building on Franklin Street in the fall of next year. Reuther’s company also owns the Natchez Grand Hotel and manages the Natchez Convention Center.

Regions Bank plans to build a new downtown branch on Canal Street in the area of the former Isle of Capri Casino warehouse near Fat Mama’s Tamales.

Natchez Regions President Charlie Speed said with the advent of technology that enables customers to utilize banking services without needing to visit a branch, Regions no longer needs the large building.

“Over the years, technology has really advanced, and things are automated unlike before, from ATMs to mobile deposits on your smartphone,” Speed said. “It’s all about convenience for the customer, so we don’t need the space like we used to.”

Regions is working with the City of Natchez and the city’s historic preservation commission on plans for the new bank. Speed said the bank hopes to break ground on the new branch in December.

“This is an opportunity to do a reinvestment in downtown, clean up the warehouse area and build a nice, new building,” Speed said. “We didn’t want that huge, beautiful building empty, of course, so it’s an exciting thing for Natchez. It’s a win-win.”

Hotel Natchez, which Reuther says is the name of the new hotel, will be a boutique hotel, with 65 rooms, eight suites, a fitness facility, a business center, meeting space and other amenities.

“It’s a beautiful building, and it really lays out perfectly for a hotel,” Reuther said. “The atrium is beautiful, and it just kind of makes the hotel, in my opinion.”

With the closing of the Natchez Eola Hotel in 2014, Reuther said Natchez is in need of hotel rooms.

“And we need the jobs and to generate the revenue and tax dollars for marketing,” he said. “Marketing is the key. You don’t have to build the river, you don’t have to build all the antebellum homes or all the hospitality downtown, you just need to market it.”

The new hotel, Reuther said, is expected to create approximately 30 new jobs. Reuther said he is working with local architect Johnny Waycaster on plans for the hotel.

Reuther said his company is committed to Natchez’s hospitality industry, with its operations at the Grand, the convention center and now the new hotel.

“(When we open the hotel), I don’t know if anybody is going to have a bigger investment in the hospitality industry as our group does,” he said.

Reuther’s company also has a preliminary agreement with the city to develop the Broadway Street historic railroad depot, although the board of aldermen temporarily halted the project earlier this year to consider proposals from other developers.

Reuther said he plans to make a presentation at the aldermen’s 11 a.m. meeting Tuesday to see where the projects stands.