Jump to content

Biloxi and the Coast


tombarnes

Recommended Posts

It's ashame Waveland will give way to high-end condo's. Most all the charming large oak trees were lost south of the R.R.tracks . Will Waveland ever be the same. Some people say they should keep all the condo towers away from there. They say let Biloxi and Gulfport get the high-rises.

Edited by richyb83
Link to comment
Share on other sites


I tend to agree with you, but I still think that too many people have a knee-jerk reaction against high-rise buildings. A well planned, attractive tower set in a lush park certainly beats acres of sprawl for me. What I would truly like to see for the coast is well planned diversity. Good neighborhoods with buildings both large and small. One cannot design by fiat...i.e. "all towers are bad" or "low-rise buildings are all wonderful." The most unfortunate thing about the whole process is that there isn't yet a coherent planning system in force in most of the communities across the Coast. Some places seem to get "it", while others don't. It goes without question that the Coast will never be the same again. The challenge is to accommodate growth within the constraints which will make said growth a beautiful thing. It need not be a soulless sprawl of mindless building. I wish that the Governor's Commission had been granted executive powers above and beyond the status of a mere suggestion. I realize why this is not so, but I lament it just the same.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Island View Casino in Gulfport to Reopen in September

The former Grand Oasis in Gulfort will repoen as the Island View Casino in September. The former owners of the (now defunct) Copa Casino in Gulfport bought the remnants of the hotel fnr $55m in March. Their plans include removing the former lazy river swimming pools and replacing them with additional restaurant and casino space. Plans for the original Grand Casino tower in Gulfport have not yet been announced.

WLOX TV 13 News

Edited by tombarnes
Link to comment
Share on other sites

116 M in Property Sold in Three Days

<i>Ppre-Construction Investing Tours</i>, a recent property expo in Biloxi brought in a flurry of investors. It would appear that there is very healthy demand for property on the Coast.

The Sun Herald

I'm intrigued by the promotion of luxury condo units at the same property expo as affordable-housing units. Who are the investors in the affordable housing units? Casino owners, who buy them for their employees? If the properties were in my area (metropolitan Washington, DC), the prices for townhomes and "attached villas" quoted - - $109,000 to $114,000 - - would cause a stampede.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good question. The idea of investing in affordable housing units is only just now beginning to register with casino owners. Suddenly, they realize that their employees will have nowhere to live. Who is building the affordable units? I'm not entirely sure. First of all, the affordable units appear to be thin on the ground on the Coast. The area is headed for a housing crisis. As for the Washington area, I live in downtown DC and could not agree more about DC prices. We would definitely have a stampede at the prices above!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tombarnes

I located a post (searching the web) that you made in Sept of '05 concerning the White House Hotel in Biloxi. I'm one of the last of the family that started the hotel in (approx) 1899. Mr. Love has been attempting to restore the hotel for some time, but due to 9/11 and Katrina I don't know if the project will ever be completed. My grandmother is 98 and was hoping to see the hotel completed, but I don't know if that will happen. She lived (during the summer) in our family home on Morrison Ave; across from the hotel. I was amazed that the old home survived the storm as well as the hotel. Even though most of the old homes have been taken by the sea, at least our coastal family history survives in many photos, letters and candy recipies (if your intrested, I'll explain). Take Care--

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Tombarnes

I located a post (searching the web) that you made in Sept of '05 concerning the White House Hotel in Biloxi. I'm one of the last of the family that started the hotel in (approx) 1899. Mr. Love has been attempting to restore the hotel for some time, but due to 9/11 and Katrina I don't know if the project will ever be completed. My grandmother is 98 and was hoping to see the hotel completed, but I don't know if that will happen. She lived (during the summer) in our family home on Morrison Ave; across from the hotel. I was amazed that the old home survived the storm as well as the hotel. Even though most of the old homes have been taken by the sea, at least our coastal family history survives in many photos, letters and candy recipies (if your intrested, I'll explain). Take Care--

I am very interested. Please do tell more. I would like to see the White House saved. Given that the property withstood Katrina, I would think that a condominium/hotel project incorporating the White House could succeed. Any history or information at all would be terrific!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bad news, everyone. By the time you read this post, you will find out that the 12-story tower at Grand Casino Biloxi was imploded on May 21, 2006 at the age of ony 11 years. It was dammaged by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. It featured an elevated entry drive that delivered patrons to a second level porte cochere that opened to the main lobby. Its implosion required 400 pounds of explosives to complete. The tower had to make way for a $1,000,000,000 casino and entertainment redevelopment, which means possibly rebuilding the hotel tower. I hope they do not tear down the 13-story hotel tower!

That was the Islandview tower- the original Grand Casino. The newer tower, the Bayview, is reopening today. As far as I know, there are no current plans to destroy what they have just renovated and will reopen today. As for the master plan for the rest of the site, we will have to wait until November to know more about their plans. Please post if you hear anything.

Edited by tombarnes
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think the damage was so extensive that it could not have been renovated. I believe their decision was mostly due to their wanting a "clean slate" for the rebuilding of the property south of Highway 90. For this reason, I think an implosion of the former Casino Magic hotel is all but certain. No details on this development are likely to be released before November. Approval from the city council and the gaming commission will also have to be granted before any earth is turned on this project. The former Bayview reopened its doors a few hours ago. When I can find a video clip with decent footage, I'll post it here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Islandview Tower was only 11 years old when it was imploded. I agree that the Casino Magic tower could very easily be incorporated into the new project. Whether or not it will be remains to be seen. Something tells me it won't be there much longer. Their "clean slate" may well include that portion of the property. It will be fascinating to see what is proposed this fall.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Grand Biloxi Reopens- Hints at Future

The Grand Biloxi has reopened its doors. Several hints at what's in store for the property across the street were dropped. It seems that the name may be retained for this property- at least in some way. And yes Jim, you may be correct about the Casino Magic tower. The building has been stripped of its contents, but may be recycled in some fashion- possibly as a condominium or as part of the hotel complex. Harrah's has not divulged any figures about what they have spent on the restoration of the former Bayview tower. I'd be interested to hear comments from anyone who may be visiting the property. I'm not sure when I'll be in Biloixi, though I'd like to pay another visit soon.

Gulf Coast News

Edited by tombarnes
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hollywood Casino in Bay Saint Louis to Open August 31st

The new owners of the former Casino Magic in Bay St. Louis plan to have the hotel and casino back in action by the end of the month. This is much sooner than had been anticipated. The name has been changed to the Hollywood Casino, one of Penn National's monikers. The hotel tower will have 291 rooms, quite a drop from the almost 400 they had before Katrina. The low-rise wings were destroyed in the storm and will not be rebuilt. Further expansion is a possibility.

Gulf Coast News

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The Beau Rivage Reopens its Doors Today

A powerful symbol of the resurgence of the Mississippi Coast was this morning's reopening of the Beau Rivage hotel and casino. MGM Mirage has poured an additional $550m into its reconstruction. WHile this is a strong indicator of recovery, there is still much to be done on the Coast.

The Sun Herald

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Broadwater Demolition Continues

The demolition of the Broadwater and the Broadwater Tower continues. Plans for the Broadwater site should be announced within a month (according to sources at the Roy ANderson Corp.- I called them today). The tower will become the site of a separate venture known as the Ocean Club Biloxi, being developed by Austin developer Drake Leddy.

The Gulf Coast News

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Main Street Progress Report

Some downtown areas are doing better than others on the Gulf Coast. The prospect of vibrant, new downtowns is revitalizing some towns, while others languish in uncertanty. Gulfport may see a couple of major announcements in the coming weeks with a residential high-rise building and other projects.

The Sun Herald

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Main Street Progress Report

Some downtown areas are doing better than others on the Gulf Coast. The prospect of vibrant, new downtowns is revitalizing some towns, while others languish in uncertanty. Gulfport may see a couple of major announcements in the coming weeks with a residential high-rise building and other projects.

The Sun Herald

Thanks very much for posting this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

The office buildings will come in time. I think the current condo craze may push other developments away from the waterfront. Bay St. Louis may, in fact, move their courts and city offices well inland. I'm not exactly in favor of this trend, but the prices of waterfront property and the reality of new building restrictions make development on the water unaffordable for all but the most deep-pocketed developers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The office buildings will come in time. I think the current condo craze may push other developments away from the waterfront. Bay St. Louis may, in fact, move their courts and city offices well inland. I'm not exactly in favor of this trend, but the prices of waterfront property and the reality of new building restrictions make development on the water unaffordable for all but the most deep-pocketed developers.

Well, my concern is that there's going to be a ton of expensive condos on the coast, but not enough jobs that pay people enough to afford the rent for a condo. The way I see it, three things could happen. Either there will be high-ride office towers coming in soon and the Gulfport-Biloxi area will quickly surpass Jackson as the most populated area in the state; or the high paying jobs won't come and people will be stuck with rent bills they can't afford and there will be a high turnover rate in occupancy which forces the price of a condo through the floor; or the area will just become another vacation resort for snowbirds who boost the population, traffic, etc for six months of the year (October to April) and then vacate when summer comes around.

It'd be great if Wachovia put it's main Mississippi headquarters in Gulfport because the town would start to emerge as a financial center of the state between Wachovia and Hancock Bank. That might just be wishful thinking though. I do believe the majority of Wachovia branches are in the southern part of the state though (atleast they were when the Wachovia-Southtrust merger was finalized).

Another great idea would be a major mixed use development over by Edgewater Mall which had office buildings, condos and lofts, a movie theatre, a grocery store, restaurants, night clubs/lounges and retail development all in one centralized location, a la Atlantic Station in Atlanta. There are lots of smart ways to redevelop the coast, I just don't think putting only condos in with the casinos is the way to go.

Please tell me Sharkheads is atleast coming back in it's old location WITH the shark's mouth. I used to use that as a way to figure out where I was on 90 when I'd visit the coast.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.