The former bus station at 1511 Walnut St. has been purchased by Mayor Laurence Leyens, who plans to restore the building and turn it into a restaurant. (Jon GiffinThe Vicksburg Post)

[6/12/04]Vicksburg Mayor Laurence Leyens began work restoring his fourth downtown property this week and says he wants to show people that he is putting his money where his mouth is.

Leyens purchased the building at 1511 Walnut St., the former home of the Miss Mississippi Pageant and previously a bus depot. His plan is to restore the building to its original state, then sell or lease the property.

He said the building, a block away from City Hall, the Mississippi River Valley Division building and the BancorpSouth main office, would make a good restaurant.

“I’m trying to show people that you can take an old building and get a good return on your investment,” Leyens said.

Now in his fourth year in office, Leyens has made downtown revitalization a major focal point of his administration. City efforts have included a $5.6 million urban renewal plan and a $2.6 million reconstruction of downtown Washington Street.

Before becoming mayor in 2001, Leyens bought and restored his home at South and Cherry streets and the B’nai B’rith Literary Club on Clay Street. Since taking office, he also bought and restored the property at 1208 Washington St., now the home of the Audubon Society.

Leyens also owns interest in his family’s property, The Valley Department Store, 1421 Washington St., but none of those properties were included in the city’s urban renewal plan. Leyens also sold his interest in the B.B. Club, an historic Jewish night club used for about 40 years as Vicksburg’s police department, last month to his partner Dan Fordice.

He said his original intent in buying the building was to save it, but that he never wanted to own it permanently.

Leyens, who seems most at home when fixing old buildings, said the architecture and the history of the former bus depot building were what first interested him in the property.

“It’s an amazing Art Deco-style building that has faded and been forgotten,” Leyens said.

The building was built in 1950 as a bus station and operated there under various bus lines until the new terminal on North Frontage road was built in 1985. Leyens said he wants to build on that history.

He plans to restore the interior and create a 1940s-style cafe with a bus depot theme. He has also been looking to purchase an antique bus to put on the property.

Leyens said he expects the work to take about 90 days.