10 companies submit bids to demolish Ceres Plantation

Published 11:26 am Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Ten companies have lined up to demolish the Ceres Plantation House after proposals were read publicly by the Warren County Port Commission Monday.

Offers were from:

• Bulldog Construction of Vicksburg, $61,231

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• Faircloth Demolition of Clinton, $54,500

• Fred Clark of Vicksburg, $105,000

• H&W Demolition of Bossier City, La., $113,282

• Hopkins Construction of Ridgeland, $159,286

• Parson Construction of Vicksburg, $30,200

• Riverside Construction of Vicksburg, $127,971

• Unicon of Jackson, $88,635

• Walton Construction of Vicksburg, $147,000

• Will Branch of Bogalusa, La., $29,700

Commissioners will meet again before next month’s regularly scheduled meeting to award the job, executive director Wayne Mansfield said.

The house, barns and fences on the 40-acre property will be taken down as part of the process, according to proposal specs.

Built in the 1830s by the Flowers family, the house and surrounding land and structures have been coveted by preservationists and eyed for redevelopment or demolition by the county since it became part of Ceres Research and Industrial Interplex in 1986.

A move in 2010 to have the structure declared a Mississippi Landmark was denied by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History after an eight-month review determined not enough of the original architecture had been retained, among other factors.

Once gone, the 40 acres of empty space will be used to attract an industrial tenant, the commission has said.