NATCHEZ &8212; The Department of Archives and History has said it will have an archeological study of the former Natchez Pecan Factory site complete by the end of the year, City Attorney Walter Brown said Tuesday.

&8220;I think that at its Jan. 12 meeting, the permit board will determine that site shouldn&8217;t be designated as a landmark and that the city can go ahead and demolish it,&8221; Brown said.

That would clear the way for city crews to demolish the building to make way for a bluff top condos proposed by developers Ed Worley and Larry L. Brown Jr.

&8220;And if the Historic Preservation Commission approves the design Wednesday (today) and the Planning Commission approves the site plan Thursday, it would be up to the developer to then start work,&8221; Brown said.

The city&8217;s Historic Preservation Commission had put off acting on the Worley-Brown request until the developers and architects hired by the Historic Natchez Foundation change the design to fit city preservation rules.

Such design meetings were held in early November. Among the plan changes that resulted:

4The condos, originally two buildings seven stories high, were split into five buildings six stories high, a total of 64 units.

4The buildings would be detailed with dormers, ironwork and many other details inspired from Natchez architecture.

4The buildings would also now face the city, not the river, and the complex would include a 15-foot landscaped riverwalk with benches.

In other news related to riverfront development, it seems getting the site of a proposed convention center hotel approved by the state might take some digging &8212; for facts, that is.

Three parties &8212; Akshar LLC of El Dorado, Ark., Thomas Bauer of New Orleans and Gene Simmons of Atlanta &8212; submitted proposals to the city late last month to build a hotel across Canal Street from the convention center.

But first, the city must get MDAH&8217;s approval, something city officials sought at the department&8217;s Thursday Permit Board meeting.

Ken P&8217;Pool, historic preservation director for the Department of Archives and History, said MDAH&8217;s Permit Board finally decided Monday to take the first step toward such approval, getting public comments on the historical significance of the site.

Among department officials, &8220;there has been some discussion as of archeological materials that might be present on the site,&8221; P&8217;Pool said. &8220;Then again, almost any place in the Natchez area is subject to having archeological materials on site.&8221;

The public will have 30 days from the date a notice seeking public comments is published &8212; as it now stands, later this week &8212; to give those comments.

&8220;It&8217;s just a fact-finding mission,&8221; P&8217;Pool said.

After those comments are received, the permit board is likely to make its decision in its Jan. 12 meeting.

The permit board also heard arguments Thursday from city officials that the vacant band hall behind the old Margaret Martin School building should be torn down, P&8217;Pool said.

&8220;They submitted photos,&8221; he said. &8220;And we have, with great disappointment, said that for safety reasons the band hall will probably have to be taken down.&8221;

P&8217;Pool noted he wrote a previous city administration a couple of years ago urging them to shore up the failing structure or it would collapse.

In recent weeks, that finally happened, with the second floor of the band hall falling in.

But since the band hall, along with the school, is designated a state historic landmark, the city needs state approval to tear it down.

The permit board will send the city a letter later this week giving it permission to demolish the structure and telling the city a formal permit to do so will be sent as soon as possible, P&8217;Pool said.