Phase 2 of the contract for the renovation of the convention center awarded
Published on Thursday, August 8, 2024, 10:57
NATCHEZ – Hope Enterprises, a Natchez-based company, was awarded a $965,500 contract for Phase 2 of three phases of the Natchez Convention Center renovation project.
Hope Enterprises was the lowest bidder of the three proposals submitted for the project. It is owned and operated by Blase and Brent Gaude of Natchez.
Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson said once the Natchez Convention Center is completed, it will be a facility that many will envy.
“It will be a dramatic change,” he said.
The renovations would take “almost a year,” Gibson said.
Phase 1 of work began this month. The contractor for Phase 1 is Smith Painting, the sole bidder. Phase 1 includes renovation of the first floor exhibit hall of the convention center, including installation of new wall coverings, carpets, paint and repair of wall partitions at a bid price of $699,317. It was hoped that work on Phase 1 would begin in December 2023. However, because the convention center was fully booked, work was postponed so that those reservations could be accommodated.
“We had hoped to start last January, but the convention center was so busy that we had to wait until August,” he said.
“The difference will be incredible. Anyone who has had a meeting there before and comes back after this renovation will be thrilled, and Natchez will be the most talked about meeting place in the state,” Gibson said.
The design consultant for the project is Marjorie Feltus Hawkins of Nashville design firm Feltus Hawkins Designs. Hawkins is a Natchez native and owner of Linden.
“We wanted her to do it because we wanted the convention center to have a Natchez look,” he said. “Phase 2 will give a new look to the hallways, bathrooms and lobby. You’ll feel like you’re walking into a historic property. There will be fine woodwork and beautiful sheathed arches along the hallway. You should see the light fixtures. The doors will be cut to look like panels. It will make you feel like you’re walking into the Greenbrier.”
The total cost of the renovation is expected to be approximately $3 million.
“The $3 million budget allows us to do the entire ground floor and part of the upper floor, but possibly not everything we would like to do,” Gibson said.
The third and final phase of the renovation will involve installing new audiovisual equipment and new sound systems and equipment. This work is expected to cost approximately $1 million.
The money for the renovation came from a public property improvement bond issued by the city in 2021.
“This bond should enable us to renovate the convention center, the civic center and the city auditorium – all without raising taxes,” he said.
