Abandoned Aeolian building to be renovated

VICKSBURG — A Vicksburg building that has been empty and neglected for years appears headed for a dramatic turnaround.

The four-story Aeolian building has been vacant since 1991. But The Vicksburg Post says nearly $750,000 worth of income-based tax credits will be used to make the building into senior apartments.

The money from the Mississippi Home Corporation was awarded to Houston-based development firm Brownstone to head up an $8-million makeover for a building that has stood since 1924.

Developers plan units on all four levels outfitted with cable television and Internet hookups. Tenants will have on-site storage space and a media room and a salon inside the 15,500-square-foot building. An empty lot at Cherry and China streets, a block north of the Aeolian, will be converted into a 42-space tenant parking lot. An additional 20 spaces will be built in the garage below the complex.