More than two years after the Trustmark building at Washington and Clay streets was sold for residential development, work to convert it into upscale apartments should begin by May, its business and property manager said Monday.

Upgrades to the electrical and ventilation systems have begun in the basement of the eight-story structure, with physical renovations to middle floors to represent a second phase, depending on financing, said Nicole Coulter Gilmer, business and property manager for developer First National LLC.

Built in 1905, the building housed First National Bank of Vicksburg and, later, Trustmark, which merged with First National, on its lower floors for more than 75 years. Trustmarks’s main local branch will continue to operate on the first and second floors during and beyond the middle floors’ transformation.

To be called The Residences at The First National Bank, the complex will consist of 62 “exclusive high-rise homes, most with sweeping views of the river,” according to promotional material. Other amenities include a fitness center, a secure private entrance, living spaces accented with wood and stone furnishings, a bar and grill and outdoor terraces.

A rooftop development is in the works as well, with plans to be finalized later, along with a final completion date, Gilmer said. The building has some of the city’s best views of the Yazoo Canal, Mississippi River and Louisiana Delta.

The development will be operated by NewBreak Builders, one of a group of real estate developers spun off from California-based Cantwell-Anderson Inc. The group also owns the Park Residences at Bienville and the Bienville Apartments on I-20 Frontage Road next to Battlefield Inn.

Rooftop developments could hinge on whether the Wheeless, Shappley, Bailess and Rector law firm decides to work out a lease agreement with the building’s owners.

Attorney Ken Rector, a partner in the firm, said a decision is pending about whether the firm will stay in a largely residential structure or move to another location. A meeting with developers concerning the firm’s future in the building was canceled Thursday due to the looming winter storm, Rector said.

First National began in Vicksburg in 1884. Its first office was on the northwest corner of Washington and Crawford streets and it later moved to Clay Street east of Washington Street before the current building was constructed. The building itself was once the tallest in Mississippi and was a hub of sorts for decades in the downtown commerce scene, as medical offices, insurance agencies and barber shops were located on the building’s different levels.

Portions of two other Washington Street buildings between Veto and Jackson streets were converted into living spaces in 2009, The Valley at 142 and the former Sears store at 1509.

Other large downtown buildings for which hotel or apartment conversions have been announced, but not constructed, include the former Downtown YMCA, the Crawford Street Post Office and Carr Central High School.

Contact Danny Barrett Jr. at dbarrett@vicksburgpost.com