NATCHEZ &8212; Ownership of the former First Baptist Church building at Main and Rankin streets has been transferred to the Sanders Law Firm, ex-owner Durrell Armstrong confirmed this week.

But Chester Ray Jones, attorney for a New Orleans clergyman considering buying the building, said the prospective buyer isn&8217;t quite ready to publicly divulge what his plans would be for the facility.

&8220;But we plan to be at (this month&8217;s) aldermen meeting,&8221; Jones said.

Late last month, City Attorney Walter Brown said the prospective buyer and/or his attorney planned to attend the Dec. 13 meeting of the Board of Aldermen to tell them more about his plans.

But the clergyman isn&8217;t the only person possibly interested in the building.

In addition, New Orleans real estate developer Thomas J. Bauer told aldermen last week that in addition to building a 120-room convention-grade hotel, he is also interested in the former First Baptist Church building on Main Street as a possible site for apartments.

Such interest came when the city was set to file suit against Armstrong, now of Wichita, Kansas, to get him to either tear down the building or bring it up to city codes.

Whoever fixes up the building will have to undertake an extensive cleanup of debris and garbage, judging from a recent walk-through of the property.In addition, the roof has caved in above the former church&8217;s sanctuary.

City Building Inspector Paul Dawes has estimated it would cost close to $100,000 to demolish the building, something his department hasn&8217;t had the budget for.