Brumfield School Apartments sale to be finalized today

Published 12:06 am Wednesday, February 13, 2013

NATCHEZ — The City of Natchez is expected to finalize the sale of Brumfield School Apartments today to New Hope Missionary Baptist Church’s non-profit housing program.

The Natchez Board of Aldermen passed a resolution Tuesday approving the sale of the apartment complex to the New Hope for approximately $121,000.

The amount matches what the city paid for Brumfield, Mayor Butch Brown said after the meeting. The city purchased Brumfield for approximately $59,000 and paid approximately $61,000 in back taxes on the property.

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The property was formerly owned by Gleichman and Company and was abandoned by its management company, Stanford Management, in February 2011. The former school building was in the process of foreclosure when the city purchased its mortgage from Britton & Koontz Bank in January.

New Hope plans to operate the apartments as low-income housing.

New Hope Bishop Stanley Searcy said the church also plans to renovate the interior and exterior of the apartments.

Searcy said he did not yet want to comment on funding for the project because he has not had a chance to talk to the church’s board about the final plans.

The church’s non-profit housing program is also working to complete Washington Apartments, 30 units of affordable housing located adjacent to New Hope.

Brumfield School was built in 1925 and converted into housing using the city’s Large Unused Municipal Property program in the 1990s under Brown’s first administration.