Bay St. Louis \ Pass Christian Area Thoughts?

[AsIwouldsay]

Hello All,

I have just started viewing urbanplanet on a regular basis, finding it to be an excellent source for credible development links. I work for a consulting firm covering a wide range of services. Most of my co-workers think that I am crazy for spending time reading a "chat room" ~ ha ha ~ for news. I will convert them eventually.

This is my first attempt to interact, mainly because this little project I've got going is somewhat hard to put a finger on. Maybe you would care to share some thoughts. I am uncertain if my project has confidentiality issues at this point.

We've been hired to evaluate the best use for rebuilding parcel of land under 10 acres. A marina is a definite possibilty. There is space for dining, retail, or office space if they are feasible. I will be visiting the site next week for the first time. Some questions:

1. - Any idea what marinas are up and running currently?

2. - How have dining, retail, or office space rebounded? Is there demand?

3. - Is there anyone you reccomend meeting with in the development community? Any power brokers?

4. - Other thoughts on what drives the economy in this area?

Thank you all in advance!

[tombarnes]

Welcome to the forum! Without knowing the exact location of the proposed project, I can only offer the most general suggestions. Marinas are in certain demand, with most of the existing marinas having been damaged or destroyed by Katrina. Dining and retail space would also meet with success as so many of the existing venues have been lost. Power brokers? You might want to begin with Mayor Holloway of Biloxi, Mayor Warr of Gulfport or Mayor Moran of Ocean Springs. A prominent and active developer on the Coast is Mike Boudreaux of Gulf Coast Investment Developers. Vincent Creel of Biloxi might also have some useful information for you. Another person you might speak with is Lolly Barnes (no relation) of Biloxi. I welcome your participation on this board.

[AsIwouldsay]

Welcome to the forum! Without knowing the exact location of the proposed project, I can only offer the most general suggestions. Marinas are in certain demand, with most of the existing marinas having been damaged or destroyed by Katrina. Dining and retail space would also meet with success as so many of the existing venues have been lost. Power brokers? You might want to begin with Mayor Holloway of Biloxi, Mayor Warr of Gulfport or Mayor Moran of Ocean Springs. A prominent and active developer on the Coast is Mike Boudreaux of Gulf Coast Investment Developers. Vincent Creel of Biloxi might also have some useful information for you. Another person you might speak with is Lolly Barnes (no relation) of Biloxi. I welcome your participation on this board.

[tombarnes]

Tom,

Thanks for the contacts. I have a feeling that I will be with this project for a long time and get to know some folks in the area. Are the redevelopment efforts of Gulf Port and Biloxi moving much faster than Pass Christian,BSL, and Waveland? I am really looking forward to spending some time in the area and reading up on the history. My site is BSL, I believe. I really just found out about this today. I'll be working to measure demand for marina services first, followed by dining, retail and office space in the area. If I am allowed, I will provide some updates periodically.

Any word of the "Favre's on the Bayou" coming back?

[AsIwouldsay]

I look forward to your updates. As for the speed of progress, Biloxi leads the pack at this point, though downtown Gulfport may soon be seeing more activity. Waveland, Pass Christian and bay St. Louis are taking longer to start their revivals, for a variety of reasons. As for the "Favre's on the Bayou", I'm not sure what you refer to there. As far as I know, Brett Favre has signed on for another contract with the Packers. Eddie Favre? I think he is still the Mayor, but I may be mistaken.

There is an interesting proposal for downtown Bay St. Louis on the books. A group wants to build a casino and 400 room hotel, but plans to work with local restaurants to provide the dining services. It's an interesting concept, but I'm not sure how far along they are at this point.

[tombarnes]

I have been waiting for news on the Trump proposal. It would appear that a casino development in BSL would be a better bet than the tower he's building in New Orleans. In any event, the other casino proposal would likely be a draw as well.

[mattdev]

Agreed on the pace of development - I would add, however, that although Biloxi got out of the gate quickly, zoning and height restriction issues have encumbered the process a bit - At last check (please correct if wrong), I read that nearly $75m was committed/earmarked for Gulfport

Regarding recovery, I think it's best to view the area as Hancock County, rather than Bay Saint Louis, Waveland and Diamondhead - Hancock was ground-zero for Katrina and the pace of recovery is pretty consistent across the board - Not really sure what to suggest re: the 10 acres - Perhaps an upscale, mixed-use residential development with its own Marina that would provide ferry/water taxi services to and from downtown BSL

Good luck and please keep us posted

[tombarnes]

Bay St. Louis Considers A Taller Downtown

Discussion is under way in Bay St. Louis to consider the effects of building three to five story buildings in the downtown area. This would give a sense of place to the area, as well as a sense of enclosure. Having not seen the renderings, I can't vouch for the proposals. Height is but one of many factors which must be considered. On the face of it, I'd be in favor of increasing the height restriction, but height alone does not a good building (or town) make.

WLOX Channel 13 News