John Ballard stood looking at the colored schematic drawings of the new Natchez convention center for a long time Wednesday. &uot;I’ve waited a long time for this,&uot; he said, not taking his eyes from the designs. &uot;This looks great. They took all of the best ideas and incorporated them into this design.&uot;

Ballard, who owns The Wharfmaster restaurant, has also been involved with a convention center committee that has been providing input on the center’s function. That group toured other Southeastern convention centers last fall to gather ideas for the city’s center.

The Natchez Preservation Commission gave its approval to the conceptual exterior design of the convention center Wednesday, and residents gathered for the meeting seemed to give their approval as well.

&uot;I think ya’ll have done an excellent job,&uot; said Ramada Inn Hilltop manager Scott Swinney after architects Johnny Waycaster and Carl Franco presented the exterior and interior drawings of the 58,000-square-foot center to the public for the first time.

Concerns raised, however, included space for parking and the large brick facades on the Wall and Franklin street sides of the building.

Mayor Larry L. &uot;Butch&uot; Brown addressed the parking issue by saying that most convention goers will park at hotels and be shuttled to the center. He said there is parking available at several sites around the center as well.

&uot;We’re thinking about parking but we’re not building parking,&uot; he said.

And Waycaster, who with Dan Dillard of Waycaster & Associates in Natchez and Carl Franco and Rob Ashley of JH&H Architects in Jackson designed the center, said the group would consider other options for the brick facade.

&uot;We don’t want to let light into the exhibit hall,&uot; which sits behind that north wall, Waycaster said.

Other design and functional features include:

A recessed block along Canal Street to allow for an extra lane to drop off bus passengers. Waycaster said this eliminates the need to stop traffic on that street to unload the buses.

Shallow retail space on the first floor and four balconies on the second floor.

An 18,000 square-foot exhibit hall which can be broken down into smaller units.

A 2,800 square-foot food preparation area surrounded by food storage areas and service corridors.

Three elevators, one to be used as a service elevator.

Office space for the center management.

Nearly 7,600 square feet of second-floor meeting space which can be broken down into eight separate meeting rooms. Two of the rooms would open onto balconies.

A grand staircase, rather than an escalator as architects originally hoped. Using a staircase saves about $200,000, Waycaster said.

The actual construction of the building is on a $6.5 million budget, which does not include furnishings. Carothers Construction Co. will manage the construction and any subcontractors hired for the project.

With the preservation commission’s approval of the conceptual design, the architectural team will now focus on the details of the center, such as construction materials, Waycaster said. Those details will also have to be approved by the commission.

&uot;This isn’t the ending,&uot; Waycaster said. &uot;It’s the beginning.&uot;

The center is scheduled to open in April 2001.