NATCHEZ &045; Both condominium developments planned for downtown will need approvals from planning-related commissions before construction can proceed, according to City Planner Andrew Smith.

Aldermen voted late last month to enter into an option agreement with Edward Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr. to buy the old Natchez Pecan Factory site for $500,000 to build 75 luxury condos &045; a $19.3 million investment &045; at the blufftop site.

Brown has said architects should finish plans for that development by early September. Construction should start in six months after a purchase contract is signed, with construction lasting 18 months.

But before construction can begin, Worley and Brown must get site plan approval from the Planning Commission as well as the approval of the Historic Preservation Commission.

The latter commission &uot;will look at such things as design, exterior elevations, Š making sure whatever is done by the developers meets the historical&uot; standards of the area, Smith said.

City Planning Development personnel said as of Tuesday neither Worley and Brown nor Bruce Lewis, a partner in a planned condo development at the Canal Street Depot site, had requested to appear before either commission.

In addition, Smith said Lewis, who couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, will also have to apply for rezoning of his condo site, because part is zoned commercial and part residential.

That gated development would feature one-, two- and three-bedroom condominiums.

Brown and Worley’s development would include covered parking, a clubhouse and pool, tenant storage areas, an exercise room, patios and decks.