The Isle of Capri Casino has purchased a former Washington Street discount store building that had most recently been used as a business development agency.

The Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Wednesday to sell the building at 2920 Washington St., for $250,000 and to end its lease for that property with the Vicksburg Community Incubator. Separately, the incubator board voted to dissolve that non-profit and donate its remaining funds, about $200,000, to the Vicksburg Community Alliance.

Kim Tullos, general manager of the Isle of Capri, said the company plans a $300,000, renovation of the property including removal of asbestos, repairing the roof and landscaping. She said they plan to start immediately and hope to move into the building by September.

“We wanted to purchase a needy building and consolidate all of our offices on that one site,” Tullos said. The Isle’s casino, hotel and restaurants are about a mile south on Washington Street.

The tan concrete block structure was built as a Howard Bros. Discount Store, but operated only briefly. It was vacant for many years before it became the site of the “business incubator,” a grant-funded program that allowed start-up businesses to share utilities, parking and other overhead costs and give them a better chance to flourish.

Mayor Laurence Leyens said that the incubator had served its purpose, but the private-sector could provide a better, long-term solution for the mostly vacant building.

“We’re thrilled to see that property getting back on the tax rolls and improving that area,” Leyens said.

The only business currently operating at 2920 Washington St., is the Vicksburg Self Storage. The incubator board voted to give the business 90 days to relocate.

The Isle also owns the former Jett school property south of the river bridges, an RV park on Lucy Bryson Street and a maintenance facility near the entrance to its casino complex.

Charlotte Duffy, executive director of the Alliance, said her organization had not received the funds yet and that the board of trustees has not met to decide how the money will be used.

Bobby Bailess, chairman of the Alliance board of trustees, said it could be this fall before the funding becomes available. The amount of money that will actually go to the Alliance will also depend on if the incubator has any unsettled costs before being finally dissolved.

“But, it will come in handy,” Bailess said.

The Alliance group formed four years ago as an umbrella organization to coordinate activities of multiple state and private agencies became a non-profit two months ago. They operate with an annual budget of about $55,000 from mostly private donations.

Those funds have been used to fund TV commercials that have appeared in out-of-state markets, a community Web calender, signs to downtown and other projects approved by the Alliance’s 25-member board of trustees which represents 14 community organizations that are members.