‘ Downtown Unlocked’: Real estate showcase unveils business opportunities
Published 10:20 am Saturday, May 17, 2025
NATCHEZ — The Downtown Natchez Alliance on Thursday unveiled a “one-stop-shop” for anyone who wants to know about downtown real estate — particularly commercial real estate, said Liz Dantone, who is a board member of DNA and retired architect.
The Downtown Doorway site at downtowndoorway.onenatchez.com provides a break-down of all the properties available and detailed descriptions of them and is open to those who want to showcase their properties, whether for real estate agency or the property is for sale by the owner.
“I know that might bother realtors, but on the other hand you need to look at this real estate portal and think about opening up your showings to properties that are not listed by brokerage. If you can sell it, you can sell it,” Dantone said.
The site was unveiled at “Downtown Unlocked,” a real estate showcase which happened inside one of the showcased properties available for lease at 701 Franklin St.
Dantone clarified that the DNA is not selling real estate, but providing another outlet for people who are selling real estate to showcase what is on the market at no cost.
“We invite you all to enjoy it, use it and tell your friends about it,” she said. “Because downtown has a lot of opportunities and a lot of those opportunities people just don’t know about.”
A 2024 Retail Market Analysis by Joe Borgstrom of Place + Main Advisors LLC defined areas in the retail market where the Natchez trade-market area — including places surrounding Natchez in the driving market — is experiencing “retail leakage,” Dantone said.
These are dollars spent out-of-town on items like home furnishings and furniture, family clothing, groceries and more.
After the presentation, Dantone invited interested stakeholders to think about these and other business opportunities — “We’ve all heard that question ‘What if Natchez had—‘” that could be brought to the Downtown Natchez area while taking a walking tour of the available retail spaces.