Eola Hotel off auction block

Published 12:00 am Thursday, July 1, 2010

NATCHEZ — The Natchez Eola Hotel, the Natchez Eola Guest House and the Prentiss Club are off the auction block.

A customer service representative of the firm responsible for auctioning the three downtown landmarks said Wednesday it appears owner Bob Dean has withdrawn the properties.

“(Our files) do not show we had a buyer for them,” the representative said.

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Williams & Williams auction firm of Tulsa, Okla., hosted a commercial and historic real estate auction at the Eola in November.

The Eola, 110 S. Pearl St., sold to a high bidder for $4.8 million. The Guest House, 201 N. Pearl St., and the Prentiss Club, 211 N. Pearl St., sold to a high bidder for $800,000 each.

The nominal opening bid for the Eola was $500,000 while the nominal opening bid for the Guest House and the Prentiss Club was $250,000 each. An on-site bid representative submitted the high bids against a live crowd.

Closing was to occur within 30 days of Dean’s acceptance of the bids. The bidders’ identities were not revealed since the sales were not final.

One month after the auction, Williams & Williams said the sales were still pending.

Repeated attempts to reach Dean Wednesday were unsuccessful. Dean resides in Baton Rouge.

Dean first put the Eola on the auction block in 2003.