[Velastor]

A developer's vision
N.O. company seeks casino zoning north and south of U.S. 90 in Biloxi


BILOXI --
RW Development is bullish on Biloxi, with the first South Beach tower going up on the beach near Rodenberg Avenue and now a mixed-use project - including a casino - heading to the Planning Commission for approval.

Using the working name of "Gold Coast" RW Development goes before the Planning Commission March 6 to ask for a zoning change for property on the east side of Veterans Avenue. Estimated to cost $700,000, this development would bring the New Orleans company's total investment in Biloxi to more than $1 billion.

Speaking for RW Development, Reed Guice said Thursday the casino would be on the site of the former Gus Stevens nightclub, north of U.S. 90. The general look of the project will be similar to RW's South Beach project under construction to the east.

The plans call for 1,680 hotel rooms and condotels, 100,000 square feet of casino space and a 1,400-seat entertainment venue. High-end shopping would be on the ground level along Veterans Avenue. Restaurants, meeting space and a spa would be incorporated into the casino development.

The city has funding to widen Veterans Avenue "to turn it into a beautiful boulevard," said Guice. The property is in the Convention Center Overlay District and would bring needed hotel rooms close to the Mississippi Coast Coliseum and Convention Center, and Guice said it will be built well below the 110-foot flight path ceiling for Keesler Air Force Base.

"It's going to contribute millions of dollars to the local economy," he said.

The developers will ask for the land north and south of U.S. 90 to be rezoned waterfront. Guice said the property on the south side was originally zoned waterfront from 1993 to 2004 and the casino would be within 800 feet of the mean high water line as required by state law.

"We do not think this site will be as controversial as some others that have been proposed recently," he said.

"This is the old Biloxi Strip. This has always been a visitor-oriented place," Guice said. "Between 1993 and 2004 any casino that wished to be there could have applied for a gaming permit. RW simply wants to see it turn back to its original intent."

Executive Planner Edward Shambra said when Biloxi's Land Development Ordinance was drafted in 2003, "That's when we took another look," and changed the zoning of the whole strip of beachfront land in that area to B-3 business-hospitality.

RW Development has not just made promises, Guice said. "We can see their intent coming out of the ground already."