NATCHEZ — Renovation of the former Natchez Eola Hotel could be starting soon — and not without support from city officials.

During a special-called meeting Friday evening to adopt the 2019 fiscal year budget, officials unanimously approved another item on the agenda that shows their support of the hotel project, which would grant the hotel developer a sales tax rebate for up to 15 years to offset up to 30 percent of the approved project cost.

The Natchez Eola Hotel closed in 2016 due to the need for a substantial economic investment to get it up to contemporary standards, City Attorney Robert Latham said.

A Virginia attorney, Robert Lubin, purchased the Eola back in 2014 and has since promised to renovate it back into a 70- to 80-room hotel with modern amenities and apartment suites along the top floor.

Latham said Lubin applied for approval of the site as a “Mississippi Tourism Project” through the Mississippi Development Authority in order to receive a rebate in sales tax credit.

To be eligible for MDA’s approval, the project would require a minimum private investment of $15 million and an additional $200,000 investment for each of 25 or more guest rooms, Latham said.

“It’s better to have that diversion of sales tax and have $15 million dollar investment in downtown Natchez than to let it sit there vacant for the next 10 years,” Latham said.

City officials agreed having no tax benefit from a possible tourist destination is better than an empty building, and adopted a resolution showing support for MDA’s approval Friday evening.

“This is a strong indicator that the owners of the hotel are in the process of getting the hotel restoration project going. … I’m just glad to see this project moving forward,” said Natchez mayor Darryl Grennell.