The Old Mississippi Hardware Building renovation project received a boost Friday with the award of a $545,000 Delta Regional Authority grant to renovate and expand the building’s parking lot.

Developers involved with the building renovations unveiled plans in August for a $19 million project to convert the former garment factory and hardware building on Mulberry Street into a multi-floor innovation and tech transfer center to serve the Vicksburg area and the central Mississippi region.

Following the presentation, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen allocated $300,000 to the project and directed city attorney Nancy Thomas to prepare a contract establishing a partnership between the city and developer Tim Cantwell concerning the project.

“We are very excited that DRA saw the value in putting the grant toward the project,” Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce executive director Pablo Diaz said. “This is a tangible first step in terms of construction toward making that project a reality.”

Diaz said the Delta Regional Authority not only focuses on economic development in the Delta, but also supports a broad array of initiatives, including transportation.

“I think it’s important to remember that this parking lot also will support the Vicksburg Convention Center when they have big events such as the Miss Mississippi Pageant. This parking lot will be across the street, so it’s not only supporting the Mississippi Hardware Building, but also supporting the parking needs of the downtown area.”

Mayor George Flaggs Jr. called the grant “a step in the right direction and a pathway to the future for one of the most advanced technologic opportunities for Vicksburg and the State of Mississippi.”

Influenced by the presence of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Army’s Engineering Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, the hardware building development is expected to create a space to attract small and middle-sized businesses that could potentially work in federal-type programs.

Proposed plans for the building include a center for entrepreneurship and for training, and the relocation of the Mississippi State University graduate program from ERDC to the Mississippi Hardware Building.

The building will also house small business commercialization offices, the offices for the Warren County Port Authority and a manufacturing brewery, outside beer garden and a cafe.

The Mississippi Hardware building has been vacant since closing in October 2013, and its future use had been a topic of speculation since, including the possibility the building would be converted into a hotel to serve the Vicksburg Convention Center, which sits on the west side of Mulberry Street across from the building.

Mississippi Hardware was known as an outlet for hard-to-find tools such as wrench sockets, drill bits and off-size nails, and the building was the store’s third location since its establishment in 1935.

Built in 1936, the building originally housed M. Fine and Sons Mfg. garment factory.