[8/2/03]The owners of the former Battlefield Village mall building filed for bankruptcy protection in federal court this week, possibly delaying city action to demolish the vacant structure.

J&V Properties of Jackson, owners of the North Frontage Road property, filed Thursday for Chapter 11 reorganization in federal court in Jackson. The company has until Nov. 28 to disclose all financial statements to the court and present a plan for reorganization.

A hearing has also been set for 2:15 p.m. Aug. 20 in Bankruptcy Court where J&V will be required to show cause why the case should not be dismissed. Meanwhile, Vicksburg officials say the bankruptcy will postpone action to demolish the former mall building.

“He’s making us go through every single legal loophole,” said Mayor Laurence Leyens. “Now we can’t proceed without permission from the bankruptcy court.”

City officials in both the current and previous administrations have been seeking action on the property described as an eyesore.

In previous court actions initiated by the city, Warren County Court Judge Johnny Price fined the owners $5,000 for violations of the city’s fire-protection codes Circuit Court Judge Isadore Patrick ruled that the city’s order to take down the 42-year-old structure was proper.

Although both of those rulings can be appealed to a higher court, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen had proceeded with seeking asbestos surveys of the property and advertising for bids to tear down the building.

The property, which is visible from Interstate 20, has been vacant since the last major tenants, the Corps of Engineers, moved out six years ago. Since then, the property has been for sale and has been set for demolition by the city multiple times, but action has been delayed each time with promises of a deal in the works.

One of those potential deals was for The Home Depot which built on vacant property off South Frontage Road near Halls Ferry Park. Another deal which did go through was the sale of one of the outparcel buildings which has since been renovated and opened as an all-terrain vehicle shop.

Two other outparcel buildings have been torn down by the owner, but the rest of the property has been deemed “unsafe or unfit for human occupancy” by the city’s building inspection department, which cited problems associated with the structure, including a lack of water to the building’s fire sprinkler system, damage to the roof and vegetation on the outside.

City officials have also complained about piles of debris left after the former bank and movie theater were taken down.

Battlefield was among the first and one of the largest malls in Mississippi when built. Its major stores, such as McRae’s, Sears, Kroger and Walgreen’s, were joined by smaller specialty shops and a restaurant. It emptied quickly after Pemberton Square mall opened in 1985.