The owners of three adjoining buildings on Grove Street targeted by the city for demolition have 60 days to develop plans to either renovate, sell or raze them.

The Vicksburg Board of Architectural Review on Tuesday granted extensions to the owners of the buildings at 717, 718 and 723 Grove St., near the intersection with Washington Street, at the request of city Director of Buildings and Inspections Victor Gray-Lewis.

He said the 60-day delay should be enough time for the owners to prepare plans and present them to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

All three buildings are in the city’s historic district, and any demolition or renovations must be approved by the Board of Architectural Review.

In a letter to the board, Gray-Lewis said if no progress has been made on the buildings after the 60 days the issue would be returned to the board.

Malcolm Carson, who owns the building at 718 Grove, said he wants to buy and renovate the other buildings, adding he has made a deal to buy 723 Grove, which is owned by FJK LLC, owned by Jamal Khouri, and is talking with Daniel Blackwood of Edwards, who owns the building at 717. The other two buildings share common walls with Carson’s building, which is in the middle.

“It does me no good to renovate my building if the other two aren’t renovated,” he said.

Attempts to contact Blackwood and Khouri were unsuccessful.

Carson plans to put stores on the first floors of the buildings and apartments on the second floors. He said the 60-day extension is sufficient time to buy the other buildings and begin renovations.

In another matter, the board approved an application by Eddie Monsour and Vicksburg architect Skippy Tuminello to add a deck to the rear of Monsour’s restaurant, 1100 Washington St.

“This is the only place downtown where you actually can sit and eat and see the river,” Tuminello said.

The plans call for a 16-by-60-foot wooden deck surrounded by a railing that matches the city’s railing along Grove Street and covered with a black-and-white awning.