A group of five local residents is hoping to spur more development downtown by building commercial and residential property.

WMHS Downtown LLC purchased property from the City of Vicksburg at a token price through its urban renewal program and plans to start building in six months.

&#8220We think it’s a great opportunity for Vicksburg,” said attorney John Wheeless, one of the group’s members. &#8220We think this will really help develop downtown. We’re real excited about it.”

Local builder Johnny Sanders, real estate agent Harley Caldwell and brothers Cooper and Bob Morrison are the other investors planning to develop vacant land on Washington between Grove and Jackson streets.

On Monday, the Mayor and Aldermen approved the sale with Mayor Laurence Leyens saying the fee was $1 plus ironclad commitments to invest a minimum of $600,000 in the first phase. Wheeless said the whole project is estimated to cost at least $1.8 million.

&#8220In Phase I, we’ll begin at the corner of Washington and Grove,” Wheeless said. &#8220Our plan is to have four buildings in that phase on Washington Street, and then we’ll continue going north for Phase II and Phase III.”

He said the plans for the project have a three-story building being constructed at Washington and Grove with traditional detail.

Information on the project from Wheeless said the architecture will be detailed in a manner consistent with the traditional character of downtown Vicksburg, likely including exterior brick construction, wood frame windows, and a mix of arcades, galleries and balconies.

City Attorney Nancy Thomas said the group plans to construct at least seven buildings. Leyens said he’s &#8220extremely excited” about the development on a piece of property he said has been vacant for decades.

Wheeless said the group is not sure what type of commercial property will be located on the development. However, he said it will likely be similar to the retail businesses, professional offices and boutique shops along Washington Street.

The last time a new building was constructed downtown was in the 1990s, when Sunshine Cafe was built on 615 Crawford St. It later became Rusty’s Riverside Grill, which moved north on Washington after a fire.

The urban renewal program was kicked off five years ago, using portions of a $16.5 million bond issue. One approach has been to buy empty or dilapidated properties and resell them to people who will upgrade and use them. Another aspect was a downtown makeover with new pavement, parks, parking, lighting and other amenities.