NATCHEZ &045;&045; Real estate attorney Matt Schweitzer of Raleigh, N.C., will become new owner of the Natchez Guest House Historic Inn on Friday, when he and representatives of

current owners Atlantic Hospitality are set to finalize

the sale.

Schweitzer’s first change will be the name, he said Monday as he spent time checking out the landmark building at the corner of Franklin and Pearl streets in downtown Natchez.

&uot;The name is changing to Natchez Historic Inn, primarily because it is its own building with its own history and is not a part of the Eola Hotel,&uot; Schweitzer said. &uot;That change will take place on Friday.&uot;

The &uot;guest house&uot; tag was given the building by owners of the neighboring Eola Hotel when the building was renovated by them for use as an upscale alternative for Eola guests in the 1980s.

Schweitzer’s interest in the Natchez property began with a request by his mother to look at a place in North Carolina she had eyed as a potential bed-and-breakfast inn.

&uot;She had found this little house and told me she might want to buy it as a bed and breakfast. It got me started looking for one she might acquire,&uot; he said. &uot;I began to look around North Carolina and found most of them were overpriced for what revenue they can generate.&uot;

He began to branch out into other places to look at historic properties in historic cities. &uot;I visited Natchez in October. I knew something about it because my brother used to teach in Pineville (La.). He started the Red River Opera there. And my in-laws travel on the Delta Queen every year, and they had stopped here.&uot;

The Natchez Guest House Historic Inn seemed the right fit for him. &uot;It’s antebellum. It’s right downtown, convenient to everything, and it’s very grand with the columns and the veranda all around. I like the interior, the high ceilings. I think there is a lot of potential for the property.&uot;

In time, his own touches will emerge at the inn, he said. &uot;I see some changes for the restaurant. I would like to bring back some original art work into the building. I’d like to make some changes in the computer program so that you can make special requests when you make reservations. Really, I just want to enhance services.&uot;

A graduate of Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., where he received a bachelor’s degree and then a master’s degree in public administration, he earned a law degree from the University of North Carolina. Schweitzer is married and has a son, almost 2. He and his wife are expecting a daughter in a few months.

His interest in real estate has included investments in resort properties on the North Carolina coast, commercial buildings, apartment buildings and some single-family houses.

Future interests are likely to center on historic inns, he said. &uot;I would like to get another property in this area, something to use as our private home but also as a bed and breakfast.&uot;

The family will not move to Natchez, he said. But he hopes they will spend time in Natchez regularly.

The downtown inn seems a sound investment, he said. &uot;Natchez is a little off the beaten path but is a very significant place from a historical perspective, and some great events take place here, such as the balloon race and Pilgrimage and the cemetery walk.&uot;

Atlantic Hospitality has owned the inn since January 2003. Schweitzer’s mother, Karole Schweitzer, is an investor in the property along with her son.