A new residential concept will soon open along Vicksburg’s riverfront.

The Mulberry Vicksburg, an amenity-heavy apartment complex and hotel, is currently pre-leasing and will welcome its first residents in early February. Housed in the former Margaritaville Hotel and Harrah’s Casino building on Mulberry Street, the project is headed by Canton-based Certified Hospitality Management.

“We bought the building last summer and we immediately started working on renovations to the building to convert it into 52 apartments and 41 hotel rooms,” said Scott Sledge, vice president of Certified Hospitality Management. “Our project is designed to enliven the downtown Vicksburg area by creating some activity on Mulberry Street.”

The “stay and play” mentality behind The Mulberry Vicksburg will provide lodging for short- and long-term guests, restaurant and bar space and entertainment areas. It will also provide more than 20 jobs to Vicksburg residents, once operations are in full swing.

“The Vicksburg Warren Economic Development Partnership is excited to see the Mulberry project become a reality. The property is a great asset for our community and we are pleased to see it being used to meet an ongoing need in our community,” said Pablo Diaz, president of the Vicksburg-Warren Chamber of Commerce. “This investment will help downtown continue its resurgence and attract more people to live and play in our historic district. It will be a win-win for the community, for economic development, and for the ongoing downtown revitalization efforts.”

The building will feature four floors of apartments in the upper floors, with the remaining floors housing hotel guests. Units available begin at $1,400 a month and can be furnished or unfurnished, according to mulberryvicksburg.com.

Amenities available to all guests and residents will include: 24/7 room service, weekly cleaning services, a renovated swimming pool area, and coworking spaces.

Non-residents will also have the option to purchase a day pass, to get “the full Mulberry experience.”

“Hospitality is what we do. Bringing the hospitality component to the residential experience with the apartments will blend those two worlds together,” Sledge said. “If you look at Vicksburg, most hotel properties are out on the interstate. We feel like our product, by having a few rooms downtown, can meet that demand for lodging.

“Somebody who lives and stays at The Mulberry Vicksburg, they never have to leave.”

Sledge also said much credit for the project coming to fruition goes to Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs Jr.

Flaggs, who recently announced two other condominium projects in the downtown area were no longer happening, said he is excited for The Mulberry to fill a specific need in Vicksburg.

“Vicksburg is a city that is open for business and we create a good business atmosphere,” Flaggs said. “Because of that, the developer came to me. I have been in contact with people the last two to three weeks on hotel developments and residential developments in Vicksburg. I think this is one of the first ones that’s coming to completion.”

Sledge said his company is spending the next few weeks putting the final touches on the building’s lobby space. In the future, he said, The Mulberry will have the option to accept riverboats at its building that fronts the Yazoo Diversion Canal.

On Monday, Flaggs said he plans to tour the building as part of his celebrations for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.