NATCHEZ &045; Architects should finish plans within 60 days for a condo development planned for the former Natchez Pecan Factory site.

That’s according to Edward Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr., partners in the development.

Aldermen voted Tuesday to enter into an option agreement with Worley and Brown Jr. to buy the blufftop site for $500,000.

Under the proposal, they would spend $19.3 million to develop a building of 75 for-sale luxury condos, whose estimated price they wouldn’t divulge in an interview last week.

Construction should start within six months after a purchase contract is signed, with construction done in a single phase lasting about 18 months.

The development, as the pair envisions it, would include covered parking, a clubhouse and pool, tenant storage areas, an exercise room, patios and decks.

Beyond that, the pair won’t give out many details of the proposed development, saying those plans will be unveiled in about 60 days.

By the pair’s own figures, more than 3,000 condos are already being developed in other parts of Mississippi &045; including a complex being developed by Bruce and Karen Lewis at the Canal Street Depot site.

Are they concerned about some national trade papers and magazines’ predictions that the condo market may soon become oversaturated?

Not a bit. Instead, they said the development will, in Worley’s words, &uot;sell itself&uot; because of the riverfront view and the luxury of the development itself &045; although they also said they will market it with a full ad campaign at a later date.

The units, they said, will come complete with interiors featuring top-of-the-line woodwork and granite countertops.

Then there’s the history and culture of Natchez itself. &uot;This town,&uot; Worley said, &uot;is an uncultured pearl&uot; that will draw in residents.

City Attorney Walter Brown said city officials hope that development, in turn, will spur retail and perhaps other residential projects to develop in the blufftop and riverfront area.

That’s been shown in places from California to the Blue Ridge Mountains, said Brown, who noted feasibility studies were done before the project proposal was submitted to the city more than one month ago.

Others in the business locally and statewide also seem bullish on the of a condo development.

Dianne Brown, a Coldwell-Banker Realtor from Natchez and now living and working in Madison, said condos are &uot;hot&uot; right now for people who want luxury living without having to deal with outside yard care and maintenance.

&uot;There is a big market for river views,&uot; said Butch Stewart, a real estate appraiser with Coldwell Banker Brown and Co. &uot;We have not pushed property on the river as much as we could have.&uot;

Stewart said condominiums could do well in today’s Natchez market, and he thinks that is what has prompted developers’ interest in the city’s pecan factory site on the bluff.

Realtor Glen Green of Paul G. Green and Associates, who was a member of one of the groups bidding on the property, agreed. &uot;That is a great piece of property with a great view. That property has been under utilized,&uot; Green said.

&uot;Our group started looking at it two years ago. I hope it goes well for them.&uot;

Sue Stedman of Prudential Stedman and Associates said condominiums are a very desirable product in today’s market.

&uot;No one wants to cut grass anymore. They don’t want to be tied down,&uot; she said.

Further, there are more and more people who own more than one residence, and condominiums fit into their lifestyle.

&uot;We see people who may own a condo in Orange Beach, a house in Natchez and a condo in Colorado.&uot;