NATCHEZ — The Natchez Mayor and Board of Aldermen said Thursday they are nearly ready to start seeking a tenant for the former Broadway Street Depot.

“Basically we are fining tuning (our) request for proposal,” Grennell said. “We will present the proposal to the board of aldermen at our next meeting (6 p.m. July 24) so we can get the project moving. The project is about 97-percent complete.”

FOR Natchez President Chesney Doyle said the request for proposal would require new tenants to be responsible for finishing the interior space.

Doyle and FOR Natchez helped the city facilitate a recently completed downtown plan that creates an entertainment district along Broadway Street and the depot is the centerpiece of that district.

Both local focus groups and consultants recommend the building contain a food and beverage establishment that would cater to locals and toursits who walk or run around the bluff daily.

Any future plans would have to be approved by the Mississippi Department Archives and History, which oversees the use of state landmark properties such as the depot.

The depot was briefly leased beginning in late 2015 to a company owned by New Orleans hotelier Warren Reuther, whose businesses also own the Natchez Grand Hotel and is contracted to manage the city’s convention center. Reuther began funding the interior renovations on the depot in 2016, but the city canceled the lease in October 2016 and agreed to repay Reuther for his work.

“The city payed me about $78,000,” Reuther said. “It took them a year and a half, but I’m OK with that.”

Doyle said the goal for the depot is to help restructure the community.

“This isn’t a beautification plan,” Doyle said. “It’s about helping the economy of Natchez.”

Once the request for proposal is approved by the board of alderman, Doyle said the city would market the request for proposal.

“We are looking for a good entrepreneurial tenant,” Doyle said. “However, this is a serious evaluation. We don’t want people making proposals that aren’t allowed for this historic property.”