Aberdeen Main Street Spearheads Effort To Buy Old Parkway Hotel

ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) – A Monroe County city is looking to help encourage and attract more commercial and residential development to its downtown.

When it was built in the 1920’s,  the Parkway Hotel was a symbol of elegance. Now, with the public’s help, Aberdeen Main Street, wants to restore that glory.

“It will be a fabulous addition to downtown Aberdeen,” said Ann Tackett, manager of Aberdeen Main Street. Tackett is leading an effort to buy the historic property.

Where some may see a building in decline, Tackett envisions a showplace, with a restaurant and coffee shop on the first floor, and hotel rooms and apartments on the upper floors.

Purchase price is $150,000 and Tackett is reaching out to the public for tax deductible contributions.

“We did a $2,500 donation, looking for sixty people to donate $2,500, that would give us the $150,000. We’re pushing on with that, have had some smaller donations, had a monthly donation, whatever works, we will have the property and we will see this through,” said Tackett.

A one story addition, currently part of the Tombigbee Inn, will be torn down to make room for parking and landscaping.

Greg Miller, a CPA and treasurer for Aberdeen Main Street works next door to the historic building and he is excited about the potential for the project and what it will mean for the downtown area.

“It would greatly improve the downtown, our town has seen a lot of resurgence lately, had people come and invest and re do the buildings, a lot of our buildings downtown have apartments in them, and we are , hope this will be an asset to the Main Street community and make our town even more beautiful,” said Miller.

Aberdeen Main Street hopes to close on the historic Parkway Hotel by June. Then they will look for investors to help restore the glory of the grand hotel.

Columbus developer Chris Chain is working with Aberdeen Main Street to develop a renovation plan for the project.  For more information call 662-319-7183.