A portion of the Vicksburg Compress buildings at 2400 Levee St. that used to house a cotton gin press can be torn down due to excessive water damage and asbestos, the Vicksburg Board of Architectural Review approved Tuesday.

“I don’t think it’s historic,” said board member Betty Bullard. “I don’t think there’s any reason not to grant the demolition.”

None of the other board members disagreed, and the demo was approved unanimously with no further comment.

Leland Speed, who presented the case to the board on behalf of owner Vicksburg Compress LLC, said the roof of a shed housing the gin press was damaged in a storm about two years ago. A partially collapsed roof has led to significant water damage to a brick and metal room that Speed said amounts to a covered walkway between two larger warehouses.

“Essentially, we’ll be removing one portion of the roof and be creating a hallway between two buildings,” he said following the meeting.

About 13 warehouses and sheds with about 340,000 square feet of storage space comprise the Vicksburg Compress, which is spread over 22 acres near where the Yazoo Diversion Canal meets with the Mississippi River. The structures have been vacant and up for lease for years. Speed said the original structures at the compress date to 1903, while others have been added since.

“This room that we’re taking the roof and some brick out around the gin press is probably one of the oldest rooms there, unfortunately,” added Speed, a nephew of former Mississippi Development Authority Leland R. Speed.

Speed said asbestos was discovered in the roof that is to be removed and assured the board a contractor certified to remove the toxic material will be hired for the job. As for the gin press, Speed said the owner is still searching for someone to whom to donate it.

“We’ve offered the gin press to an agricultural museum; they didn’t want it,” he told the board.

Nancy Bell, executive director of the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, said she’d like to see the entire compress — and especially the equipment within — preserved.

“We’d love it if somebody would take all that equipment inside,” Bell said. “It’s a great piece of history and we’d love to preserve it, but we’re talking about a lot of expense to move it.”

Cotton production has entirely dried up in Warren County, with no farmers reporting cotton growth anywhere in the county in 2009.

“That’s the sad thing; that we’ve gone from so much cotton production to zero in no time,” said Bell, who could not pinpoint when the Vicksburg Compress last housed cotton ginning and pressing.

Since 1903, Gulf Compress, Hill City Compress and Union Compress have operated from the buildings, Bell said. Other smaller compresses along Levee Street and in the county competed for business when cotton was king, said Bell.

“But this was a pretty good sized one; possibly the largest of them all,” she said.

Speed said he could not discuss any specific plans for the buildings, but said the owners are mindful of the historical importance of the compress and also want to preserve it.

“I don’t think they’d ever consider tearing down all of the buildings… they’re of real importance to Vicksburg,” Speed said. “We’re exploring a number of options right now for their use, and one of those options is of the highest and best use. We’re mostly just trying to clean it up now, and make it more attractive.”

Board members present Tuesday were Bullard, Toni Lanford-Ferguson, Tom Pharr, Sue Seratt and Blake Teller. Also Tuesday, the board:

• OK’d Mike Hill’s request to demolish a home at 726 Adams St. Nancy Bell, Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation executive director, presented Hill’s case to the board. Bell said the home, a bungalow dating to the 1920s, was dilapidated when Hill purchased it and it cannot be rehabbed due to termite infestation and years of water damage due to a partially missing roof. The board approved the demolition unanimously without comment.

• OK’d unanimously the City of Vicksburg’s request to demolish a home at 1208 Locust St. that was damaged beyond repair in a fire.

• Placed a 150-day stay on the City of Vicksburg’s request to demolish a home at 2112 Oak St. Buildings and Inspections Director Victor Gray-Lewis said the owner of the property has been unresponsive in multiple attempts to contact and urge him to make necessary repairs to get the home up to code. The city can re-approach the board after 150 days to request the demolition again.

• OK’d June 8 meeting minutes.