MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST | (Biloxi, Gulfport, and other MS Coastal Cities)

[Red UM Rebel]

Originally Posted by BLX 101

Finally, an online rendering of the proposed Bayview Casino Resort. My property can be seen just over the pool deck.


. . . of workers for the new resort.

The Gaming Commission will come to the Coast for its next meeting, April 17 at 9 a.m. at Hard Rock Casino Biloxi.


http://www.sunherald.com/business/story/444776.html

Here is a picture! YAY! Well it definitely looks like a Dale/Morris Project. I just hope it actually gets off the ground unlike the seven year promise of Bacaran with nothing to show for it.

[BLX 101]

Posted on Mon, Mar. 24, 2008
Popeyes founder Al Copeland dies at 64
By MARY FOSTER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


NEW ORLEANS -- Al Copeland, who became rich selling spicy fried chicken and notorious for his flamboyant lifestyle, extravagant weddings, bitter divorces and lawsuits over Christmas decorations, died Sunday at a clinic near Munich, Germany.
Copeland, who was 64, had been diagnosed shortly before Thanksgiving with a malignant salivary gland tumor. His death was announced by his spokeswoman, Kit Wohl.

After growing up in New Orleans, Copeland sold his car at age 18 for enough money to open his own one-man doughnut shop. He quickly turned the shop into a moneymaker and went on to spend 10 modestly successful years in the doughnut business.

After entering the chicken business without much success, Copeland chose a spicier Louisiana Cajun-style recipe and reopened the restaurant under the name Popeyes Mighty Good Fried Chicken, after Popeye Doyle, Gene Hackman's character in the film "The French Connection." The chain that grew from the one restaurant became Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken.

In its third week of operation, Copeland's revived chicken restaurant broke the profit barrier.

Franchising began in 1976 and the company grew to more than 800 stores in the United States and several foreign countries by 1989.

In 1983, he founded Copeland's of New Orleans, a causal dining, Cajun style restaurant. In the next two decades the chain expanded as far as Maryland and west into Texas.

He also started Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro and Fire and Ice restaurants and Al's Diversified Food & Seasonings - a line of specialty foods and spices for large national restaurant chains.

In March 1989, Popeyes - then the third-largest chicken chain - purchased Church's Chicken, the second largest. The two chains, operated separately, gave Copeland more than 2,000 locations.

The Church's purchase was heavily financed, however, and escalating debt forced Copeland to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the company in April 1991. Although Copeland lost both Church's and Popeyes in the bankruptcy, he retained the rights to some Popeyes products, which he manufactured through his Diversified Foods & Seasonings plants, along with a few Popeyes stores.

Copeland frequently made headlines away from his business empire.

His hobbies included racing 50-foot powerboats, touring New Orleans in Rolls Royces and Lamborghinis, and outfitting his Lake Pontchartrain home with lavish Christmas decorations, including half a million lights and a three-story-tall snowman.

In 1983, he was sued by his neighbors to remove the Christmas light display, which he said cost about $50,000 a month in electricity. The display attracted so many visitors the street was blocked for hours every night. Neighbors said they were held hostage in their own homes.

Ten years later, Copeland made an unsuccessful bid for a Louisiana gambling license. The successful bidder, Robert Guidry, later testified that he had bribed then-Gov. Edwin Edwards to secure the license.

In 2001, Guidry and Copeland ran into each other at an upscale restaurant in New Orleans and a fight started involving Copeland, Guidry, and Guidry's sons. Witnesses said that Copeland's then-wife, Jennifer Devall, who was six months pregnant, was knocked to the ground during the fight, and both Copeland and his spouse were hospitalized.

Copeland and his third wife, Luan Hunter, were married at the New Orleans Museum of Art on Valentine's Day 1991. As they left the ceremony rose petals were tossed from a helicopter and fireworks exploded over the building.

The original presiding judge at Copeland's divorce from Hunter, Ronald Bodenheimer, pleaded guilty to promising a custody deal favorable to Copeland in return for a possible seafood contract and other benefits. Two Copeland associates and Bodenheimer went to federal prison for participating in the conspiracy.

Copeland was never personally accused of participating in the scheme.

Survivors included five sons, four daughters, a brother and 13 grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

[BLX 101]

I mentioned in a previous post that I had heard that he was ill but I didn't know that it was that serious. I am really sorry to hear of his passing. I pray that his family can soon find some peace and comfort. I am eager to learn what will become of the property that he has assembled in downtown Biloxi in an attempt to build a casino resort. For years, he had owned a couple of units in the former Wind Jammer Condominiums across from the Bombay Bicycle restaurant that he owned also. Since Katrina, the property has sat vacant between Hard Rock and Beau Rivage. It was the last piece of property Al needed in order to advance his hopes of buiding a Biloxi casino.

[Red UM Rebel]

I agree with your words of condolence. It is a shame. I bet now, as you first postulated BLX, that the land will be taken by the Hard Rock and be used for an addition of some sort.

[BLX 101]

Originally Posted by BLX 101

I mentioned in a previous post that I had heard that he was ill but I didn't know that it was that serious. I am really sorry to hear of his passing. I pray that his family can soon find some peace and comfort. I am eager to learn what will become of the property that he has assembled in downtown Biloxi in an attempt to build a casino resort. For years, he had owned a couple of units in the former Wind Jammer Condominiums across from the Bombay Bicycle restaurant that he owned also. Since Katrina, the property has sat vacant between Hard Rock and Beau Rivage. It was the last piece of property Al needed in order to advance his hopes of buiding a Biloxi casino.

Posted on Tue, Mar. 25, 2008
Copeland had Coast ventures
By MARY PEREZ
meperez@sunherald.com


BILOXI -- Al Copeland flashed around the Coast in his sports cars searching for casino sites and in his power boats racing in the Sound, and although he has died, his Biloxi ties remain.
The founder of the Popeyes Famous Fried Chicken chain and the owner of a Bombay Bicycle Club franchise in Biloxi, Copeland died Sunday at a clinic in Germany. He was diagnosed with a malignant salivary gland tumor last fall.

Biloxi Attorney Michael Cavanaugh talked to Copeland's representatives last week about developing a plan for the Biloxi property Copeland had amassed in the city. "I knew he was really ill," Cavanaugh said. "He fought this all the way and wanted to live much longer."

The 64-year old New Orleans businessman rose from childhood poverty and limited education to become a self-made millionaire. Although he achieved many of his financial goals, he didn't live long enough to realize his dream of owning a casino.

Now it's left to his son, Al Copeland Jr., and others in the organization to decide what can and should be done with the Biloxi properties. Cavanaugh said Copeland was buying land around the Bombay Bicycle Club before Hurricane Katrina destroyed the restaurant and felt the Biloxi development was more Copeland's deal than under the corporate structure.

"He acquired a lot of property," and Cavanaugh said he wanted to build a "lifestyle center," now referred to as mixed-use development with entertainment, retail, residential and office space.

Copeland also looked at the Broadwater site in Biloxi when it was up for auction several years ago. "He did not want to get into something as large as the Broadwater without a gaming partner," said Cavanaugh, and there wasn't time to put that kind of deal together.

Instead, he set his sights on the Windjammer condominium building between the Beau Rivage and Hard Rock Casino. Copeland owned two of the 48 condo units and, after Katrina destroyed the building, he was the lone holdout on an offer by California developers to pay $25 million for the site. His company matched the offer and Copeland saw himself as the only person who could build a casino there. The 1.5-acre Windjammer site alone is too small for a casino, he argued. By combining it with the land he owned across the street, the beachfront property could be developed as a casino resort.

Cavanaugh described Copeland as "gracious" and "full of life."

The Popeyes restaurants Copeland founded still dot the Coast and Copeland said in a 1998 Sun Herald interview, "Am I living the American Dream? If I am, I'm sure enjoying every minute of it."

[BLX 101]

Originally Posted by Red UM Rebel

After nearly 6+ years of promising a resort, the lot still sits empty. I have heard that one reason the lease was terminated was because there was no construction began before 2008. The owners of the lot as part of the lease was going to gain more revenue once a casino was operational. I think you will see the owners of the property now try to attract a different group (most likely a corporation) to the spot. As another forum person pointed out though, being that close to I-110 will be a very difficult sell.

Although I have faith in Marlin Torguson as one of the founding casino developers in Biloxi, I must admit that I was never sold on the location but thaught that the design was unique and would be a great addition to the coast. A resort right next to a freeway on a ditch, would be a difficult sell. Maybe the lease expiration is good news afterall. If Marlin has found a more suitable location, I'm all for it. Can you imagine two large resorts, designed by Dale/Morris, sitting side-by-side on Biloxi's Back Bay? I believe that the property immediately to the west of Vieux Crescente would be the perfect location for Bacaran Bay. The two properties would create an enormous amount of synergy on the bay. If the city follows through with the suggestion to develop a mixed-use Seafood Festival and Market Place in this area, it would generate even more local and tourist excitement. It would be awesome if Marlin could partner or negotiate with the owners of this property. I'd like to hear you guys thaughts.

[Velastor2]

This from WLOX


The Bacaran Bay casino project on Caillavet Street will be built, without condominiums, and without its creator Marlin Torguson. On Tuesday, members of a newly formed company called the Phoenix Gaming Group confirmed that they now control the Caillavet Street site.

Their plan is to reconfigure Bacaran Bay, refinance it, and move it forward. Whatever the new design looks like, it won't include condos. Phoenix Gaming Group spokesman John Ed Ainsworth says the market isn't right for condos to be part of a casino resort.

Torguson has agreed to be a minority equity holder and a consultant on the new design. A news release from the Torguson Gaming Group, Inc. says it has entered into an agreement with Caillavet Street Development Group, LLC (CSDG), owners of the land under the proposed Bacaran Bay Casino Resort and Firegame, LLC, a finance company holding security interests in some of the land, to convey the majority of its land and interests in the project to Phoenix Gaming Group, LLC, a new company formed by all three parties to direct development of Bacaran Bay Casino Resort.

According to Torguson said, "We are pleased to remain a partner in the Bacaran Bay project and are committed to working with CSDG to support the success of the resort. It is important the project will go forward with local ownership. Our agreement will also allow us to pursue other gaming developments."

Ainsworth says no timelines have been established yet to develop Bacaran Bay.

[Velastor2]

Btw for some strange reason I had to reregister because my password got screwed up and I couldnt get the site to send me a password reset. So ive added a 2 to my name.

[BLX 101]

I'd have to strongly disagree with Mr. Ainsworth's statement. I see absolutely no reason why condominiums, as part of a casino development, can't work in Biloxi. Especially if it has the right location...location...location. Maybe, the Phoenix Gaming Group should reconsider their selected site? I understand that Katrina, the insurance and now the economy issues, that some regions are experiencing, may have affected the sells; but in time, it would have worked. Other than a better location, I would suggest that they build the resort as designed and utilize the condo units as part of the hotel inventory. Once those issues (condo sells) have been resolved, they could upgrade and convert the units back into condominiums. It has been predicted by the economic experts that the Katrina affected region will continue to do well over the next several years. This is due to the billions of dollars and the incentives that were put in place by the government to rebill and stimulate growth. People that would normally travel to Vegas, are more likely to visit the coast because it's a more affordable gaming destination and a lot closer.

[BLX 101]

Posted on Wed, Mar. 26, 2008
Bacaran Bay Casino is on track again
By MARY PEREZ
meperez@sunherald.com


BILOXI -- Bacaran Bay Casino is back on again with changes to the design and new management.
Torguson Gaming Group announced Tuesday it had come to an agreement with the property owner, Caillavet Street Development Group, and finance company, Firegame. CEO Marlin Torguson retains an interest in Bacaran Bay. "He and his staff will provide some consulting services to the project," said John Ed Ainsworth, managing member of Caillavet Street Development Group.

"This effectively allows the Bacaran Bay project to go forward," said Ainsworth. "The name Bacaran Bay will remain," he said, but there will be other changes. "There will be no condos in the new project," and the bowling alley and some of the other amenities will be eliminated in the new design.

There will be between 700 and 900 hotel rooms plus restaurants, and an additional 300 hotel rooms built in a second phase.

Caillavet Street Development Group and Firegame will be the primary partners in the Phoenix Gaming Group, a new company formed with Torguson to direct development of Bacaran Bay.

"We are pleased to remain a partner in the Bacaran Bay project," said Torguson, "and are committed to working with CSDG to support the success of the resort. It is important the project will go forward with local ownership. Our agreement will also allow us to pursue other gaming developments."

Ainsworth expects the reorganization to be complete in three to four weeks.

and a new management team and investment partner to be announced soon after. "We're going to get the project under way as soon as possible."

[BLX 101]

Posted on Wed, Mar. 26, 2008
Recession-proof?
By KATHLEEN HENNESSEY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


LAS VEGAS -- In a town enthralled with its own mythology, Las Vegas would like to hold on to one myth in particular these days: Gambling is recession-proof.
It's conventional wisdom characteristic of a city and an industry far more accustomed to boom than bust, but it's just not true, experts say. Gamblers, whether motivated by compulsion or hope, don't necessarily double down when the economy spirals and belts tighten.

"It's an old idea that has very little relevance and maybe no relevance to the United States today," industry analyst Eugene Christiansen said.

Christiansen and others trace the notion to decades old economic research conducted when gamblers' options in the U.S. were limited to horse racing and a handful of Nevada resorts. Such tight supply ensured demand for gambling was steady.

"They fared pretty well," said William Eadington, a professor of economics and director for the University of Nevada-Reno Institute for the Study of Gambling and Commercial Gaming. "Part of this was a pent-up supply of gaming product."

Not so in 2008, when 48 states have some form of legal gambling and millions of Americans are within driving distance of a slot machine. Casino companies today have moved gambling to the mainstream of the U.S. tourism and entertainment industry and have moved themselves into the competition for consumers' discretionary spending.

MGM Mirage chief financial officer Dan D'Arrigo said his company, which owns Beau Rivage in Biloxi and Gold Strike in Tunica, sees no difference between the way consumers manage their gambling dollars and the entertainment and lodging spending that has grown to make up the majority of casino companies' revenue.

"They're all in one bucket," he said.

With the housing market tanking and gasoline and food prices rising, operators are seeing the effects of that bucket being emptier than it used to be. Still, gaming companies are going ahead with resorts that will add thousands of new rooms in Las Vegas.

A survey of 19 states with casino or race track gambling found about half saw gross gambling revenue drop in December 2007 from the year before. (Mississippi's gross gaming revenue for December, normally one of the slowest months of the year, was a record $103.54 million.) In January 2008, the portion grew to 12 of the 19 states, including Nevada. The state saw gambling revenue fall nearly 5 percent from a year ago to $1.06 billion, although analysts note it's too soon to discern a clear downward pattern.

Harrah's Entertainment, which owns Grand Casino in Biloxi and is the world's largest gambling company by revenue, noted several soft patches in its fourth quarter earnings report.

Because companies have started to cut budgets for employee travel and conventions, booking cancellations have increased and attendance has dropped at major conventions, Harrah's chief executive Gary Loveman said.

Room rates are "off a bit," he said, and consumers who don't use the company's loyalty rewards card - typically low-rollers - have been the first to drop off.

MGM Mirage noted similar weak spots, despite reporting a revenue increase of 4 percent, which was aided by a rush of foreign investment. Dubai World, the investment arm of the Dubai government, completed a joint venture giving it a 50 percent stake in the $8.1 billion CityCenter megaresort on the Las Vegas Strip.

While the CityCenter development remains a bright spot on the horizon, other smaller projects face uncertain futures due to the shaky credit market. In January, the Cosmopolitan, a casino resort under construction on the Strip, defaulted on a $760 million construction loan from Deutsche Bank and appears to be moving toward foreclosure. Questions also have been raised about the future of The Plaza, a 3,500-room resort modeled on The Plaza Hotel in New York.

Atlantic City properties are more clearly feeling the pinch of competition from new Pennsylvania slot parlors and tight credit markets.

The city's gambling halls suffered through a 10-month decline in revenue until a much welcomed 1.5 percent uptick in February. Pinnacle Entertainment recently announced it was considering scrapping a $2 billion megacasino project if credit markets don't improve.

Christiansen said such news has precedent. In 1991, when the U.S. was facing a similar mix of economic woes, the casino industry felt the blow. After outpacing increases in personal income for most of the 1980s, the growth in gross gambling revenue fell behind that year.

This time around experts and executives are talking about the industry's resiliency, rather than immunity, to economic downturns.

"Historically, gaming has been extremely resilient, very durable and held up better than almost any other sector during recessions," MGM Mirage president and chief operative officer Jim Murren said recently.

The industry, particularly in Las Vegas, pointed to several factors to bolster the claim.

Compared with other top U.S. tourist destinations, major gambling hubs - Las Vegas and Atlantic City - are still affordable to the bargain traveler.

D'Arrigo said MGM Mirage has seen an increase in comparison shopping for room rates with visitors opting for companies' mid-market properties over high-end luxury resorts.

Meanwhile, the high-end resorts may increasingly fill up with international travelers, thanks to a U.S. dollar so weak that a Las Vegas Strip room at the tony Bellagio can seem like a bargain for tourists from Europe and Asia. Roughly 13 percent of all visitors to Las Vegas are from outside the U.S. and that number is expected to rise.

But Eadington notes Las Vegas' fortunes are often closely tied to the development of new properties that create buzz and draw repeat visitors. In the past, when gambling revenue in the city has bested economic growth it's been in the wake of a building boom.

It's too soon to know whether the first new resort hotel on the Strip in three years, Las Vegas Sands' $1.9 billion Palazzo which began opening in late December, will be that sort of driver.

Early signs don't look promising. The number of visitors to Las Vegas fell slightly in January compared with year-ago numbers. Daily drive-in traffic has slowed compared with last winter, according to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.

Many analysts are looking farther down the road to the late 2009 opening of the CityCenter project and its 6,300-rooms for the rebound.

"There are a lot of arguments that this should be a softer market in '08 that it was in '07," Eadington said.

Robbie Hamilton, a regular at the Hooters and Orleans hotel-casinos, makes one such argument. The 27-year-old student at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas typically spends at least $40 a week betting on games, but he expects that amount to fall as gas prices rise.

"Gas and gambling kind of come out of the same pocket," he said. "I'll have to have less action because my gas tank needs it."

[BLX 101]

Due to the present slow sells in the local condo market, some of the previously proposed projects will not be built, according to Mike Boudreaux, the founder of Gulf Coast Investment Developers. He does however, remains optimistic about the future of condos here on the coast. I myself, believe that it is a good thing because I feared that they would overbuild. I don't want to see a wall of condos like in Miami or the Florida panhandle, but a few well designed projects that are able to co-exist with the magestic Oaks. I believe that we will begin to see more hotel developments in the near future to support the expansion of the convention center. And over the next couple of years, see a return of the beachfront restaurants if the insurance rates continue to decline along with a couple more hurricane-free seasons. That would be the best thing for the coast, not an over-kill of condos. The condo developers along the central beach strip are banking on the rezoning approval of the Gold Coast Casino. They feel that it is esential in order for their projects to remain viable. I believe that the city council will agree and grant the rezoning at its upcoming meeting on Tuesday. Once it is approved, the Tivoli will gain new life. I personally am in support of both casino projects but fear a domino effect along the western beachfront. I hope to see several mixed-use developments downtown and on Back Bay.


Biloxi Condo Market Not As Plentiful As Once Anticipated

Posted: March 26, 2008 04:09 PM CDT

Updated: March 26, 2008 04:40 PM CDT






BILOXI (WLOX) -- The decision to eliminate condos from the Bacaran Bay casino project is a reminder to developers that south Mississippi is not the condo market they hoped it would be. The list of condo proposals WLOX News has reported on in the past that are no longer being sold includes the Tower at Edgewater, Bienville, Pelican Plantation, Shores of Paradise, and Bacaran Bay.

Bacaran Bay's Caillavet Street property is just like Shores of Paradise at the old Hook, Line and Sinker site on Highway 90. They both have signs on them touting condos. But developers now say neither condo project will ever be built. Mike Boudreaux was part of the team trying to market and sell Shores of Paradise and a variety of other condo proposals around Biloxi.

"We had 14-17 developments pre-Katrina. We lost eight of those," he said, citing the sagging market as a contributing factor.

Yet, despite the appearance that so many people are turning away from Biloxi condos, Boudreaux remains optimistic about their future.

"I am very optimistic. I'm also a realist in that again, things aren't selling like they were before," he admitted.

A few weeks back, the head of RW Development told WLOX News sales of his initial South Beach condominium building on the southside of Highway 90 were going strong. And Granville Smith said other RW condos would be built along the Biloxi strip. Especially if the city council gives his company permission to put a casino at the foot of Veterans Avenue.

"What we think is the gaming component will become the economic engine that will allow us to finance and develop a project of this scale," Smith said.

Mike Boudreaux says approval of that casino project will dictate what happens to other condo sites in this area of Biloxi.

"If there is a silver lining along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, it's what Katrina provided, meaning everything destroyed is being rebuilt, but being rebuilt better," Boudreaux said.

The zoning change needed to allow casinos at Biloxi strip properties, where condos never materialized, could be voted on next Tuesday.

According to the director of Biloxi's planning department, 27 condo projects have been proposed for properties around the city. Ed Shambra said If they were all built, just more than 13,000 condo units would be in the market. However, those numbers were as of last September. And Shambra says it's likely they haven't been updated to include condos that are no longer being built.

By Brad Kessie

[BLX 101]

Error

[BLX 101]

Posted on Thu, Mar. 27, 2008
Casino incentives OK'd
By MICHAEL NEWSOM
mmnewsom@sunherald.com


JACKSON -- A bill giving tax breaks to casinos to build non-gambling amenities - South Mississippi's last surviving piece of legislation for the 2008 session - passed the Senate Wednesday after a lengthy debate.
The bill was part of a deal between the House and Senate. The Senate, which has a large anti-casino faction, agreed to the incentives package. The House, where there is more support of casino gambling, agreed to pass the Senate's moratorium on casino counties.

House Bill 1196, offered by Rep. Diane Peranich, D-Pass Christian, provides tax breaks to casinos that invest more than $10 million on non-gambling developments. It covers theme parks, water parks, cultural or historical centers, motor speedways or other large, non-gambling tourist attractions. The bill would also provide incentives for hotel investments of more than $40 million, as well as golf courses with investments of more than $10 million.

The bill was up against a deadline Wednesday. The Senate amended the House's bill and the two will have to agree on language before it could be signed into law.

Senate Tourism Chairwoman Lydia Chassaniol, R-Winona, said she was excited the bill passed both houses, which it had failed to do in several attempts. She said that over the years, north Mississippi senators have cast the bill as a morality issue to defeat it, but she believes it's really an economic issue.

Sen. Billy Hewes, R-Gulfport, Sen. Tommy Gollott, R-Biloxi, and Sen. David Baria, D-Bay St. Louis, championed the bill in the Senate Wednesday. They sparred with Sen. Gary Jackson, R-Kilmichael, who is a Baptist pastor, as well as Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, and Sen. Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo.

Gollott - one of the architects of the legislation that allowed offshore gambling in the mid-1990s - told the Senate that casinos are driving the recovery from Hurricane Katrina and are pumping out some $250 million in state tax revenue each year.

"If we would not have had gaming back when Katrina hit, we would have asked that the last one to leave Biloxi please turn the lights out," said Gollott, whose family leases land to casinos.

Hewes said the incentives plan would allow a casino group to take advantage of incentives already offered to other businesses through past legislation that excluded casinos. The bill would allow a casino to recoup up to 30 percent of the project's value over a 10-year period, by giving it access to a percentage of the sales tax the project creates. Coast senators said the incentives would likely cause much investment on attractions in the state from casino groups.

Bryan said he doesn't believe casinos are interested in building other attractions to keep people out of the casinos, but Baria said that he and many South Mississippians go to casinos to eat or see shows and never gamble.

"People can buy Playboy for the interviews, too," Jackson said in response to Baria.

The Senate vote Wednesday was 34-16 and the only member of South Mississippi's delegation to vote against the measure was Sen. Billy Hudson, R-Purvis.

A Senate bill that would limit casinos to the counties where they are currently legal passed the House Wednesday.

Senate Bill 2199 was amended in the House and the two chambers will have to come to terms before the bill can be signed into law.

Behind the scenes, lawmakers brokered a deal on the two pieces of casino legislation. The incentives bill was killed last year by anti-gambling forces in the Senate and the deal required pro-casino lawmakers to vote for the geographical limit, and anti-casino ones to vote to allow the incentives.

The moratorium on casino expansion, which has also failed in previous legislative sessions, would not affect plans for tribal casinos because American Indian groups operate as sovereign nations and do not have to adhere to state law.

A motion to reconsider was entered on the moratorium bill, and that will have to be dispensed with before the bill could move forward.

Peranich

Gollot

Hewes

Baria

[BLX 101]

I must say that I am very impressed with Biloxi's downtown Renaissance thus far. It seems as though all entities are on the same page with regards to the selection of the right business establishments, their locations and architectural designs. Approved this past Tuesday by the council, was an upscale jazz club and eating establishment on Howard Avenue. The large building which was the former Merchiston Hall Furniture store between I-110 and Caillavet Street, will be renovated (according to the renderings) to look like a New Orleans style club. The architect is Frank Genzer, who also designed the new Hancock Bank that will be built just to the east on the Northeast corner of Howard and Caillavet. The former Union Planters Bank on Lameuse Street, just north of Hardrock, has previously been approved for a blues lounge that will feature live entertainment. The Music Bank is the name that was given during the permitting phase. It is a beautiful building also with wrought iron balconies. Venues, a sports bar that also serves meals during lunch hours, recently opened on the Northeast corner of US 90 and Caillavet across from the Beau Rivage; business seems to be good. The new multi-event center, also home of the new public library, will be on Howard as well, just east of downtown on the large vacant lot that use to be Dukate school. The downtown renaissance would be almost complete if two mixed-use developments were to come to fruition: City Place on Main Street and Lameuse Place on a large block, at the eastern end of the Vieux Marche, where the former federal court building sits gutted and vacant.


http://www.sunherald.com/201/story/454924.html

http://www.biloxi.ms.us/PDF/peoplesbank.pdf

http://www.coasttransit.com/images_u...20View%201.JPG

The Biloxi city council has scheduled a special 11a.m. meeting this Tuesday to hear about plans for a Wyndham hotel at the downtown small craft harbor. Previously, developers were proposing Harbor Point Condominiums at this location.

http://biloxi.ms.us/mayor/sotc2007/SOTC-0607pg12.pdf


The following link is a development near LSU in Baton Rouge that I feel would be an excellent choice as a mixed-use project as Lameuse Place on the site of the former federal court building in Biloxi.

http://www.fieldhousebr.com/

http://www.cordarocompanies.com/incl...lace_Flyer.pdf


On the next link, click on Recent then scroll to Village at Bon Secour. A similar development on Back Bay near Vieux Crescente, incorporating a casino with a mixed-use fishing village that has been proposed for this area would be awesome.


http://www.dalearch.com/


The following is a link of an aerial view of downtown Biloxi. The intersections of Howard and Caillavet to the left, and Howard and Reynoir to the right are visible with the BVM Cathedral in the center. See if you can locate the sites of the new businesses and developments.


http://www.archiplanet.org/wiki/Nativity_BVM_Cathedral


On the link below, scroll down and click on downtown Biloxi over the Vieux Marche.


http://bigeyeinthesky.com/Default.asp?CID=Katrina

[Red UM Rebel]

Originally Posted by BLX 101

http://www.sunherald.com/201/story/454924.html

http://www.biloxi.ms.us/PDF/peoplesbank.pdf

http://www.coasttransit.com/images_u...20View%201.JPG

The Biloxi city council has scheduled a special 11a.m. meeting this Tuesday to hear about plans for a Wyndham hotel at the downtown small craft harbor. Previously, developers were proposing Harbor Point Condominiums at this location.

http://biloxi.ms.us/mayor/sotc2007/SOTC-0607pg12.pdf


SORRY! This post is incomplete because I must go to work. I wiil update it later.

I had not heard anything about Wyndham. That is very interesting. Pulling hotels like Hilton and Wyndham will be just another step in the right direction. Having nice non-gaming facilities will be crucial. With the current bust on Condos, nice hotels will serve as a great replacement.

There is an article on WLOX about the rebirth of Sharkheads in Biloxi near the RW Development's South Beach. I am glad to see that the tacky store is coming back; I always loved to take family there. The plans call for the store to be elevated 25ft and a restaurant on the third floor.
www.wlox.com

[Velastor2]

Here is the link about sharkheads he was talking about.


http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=8081251&nav=6DJI



While I was on Spring Break I managed to convince my folks to drive down to Biloxi and eat at one of the casinos, but mainly I just wanted to get a chance to see the progress since last July when I was last in the area. I have to say the new bridge is beautiful, especially at night when all the lights on the bottom come on. A few things I noticed;

The lots where houses once stood look much better now that they are cleaned up and grass is growing. Although it is strange still to see the long strip along the beach of nothing but grass.

The beach seemed to be having major work going on because there was a lot of piles of sand all up and down the beach.

I noticed a new sea wall/piles of concrete behind the Hard Rock and Beau. Is this to break the waves during storms and to protect boats or is this for the fish?

It looked like the first part of the RW development is nearing completion and the new Dillards, I think its Dillards, looks really nice on the outside.

I saw the 2 new gas stations going up, the one in download looks decent for the location, but the other one, the kangaroo station, looks like one of the old gas stations.

I also saw some other building underconstruction at the street where you turn into Hard Rocks parking deck. I tried to figure out what it was, but I couldn't see a sign from US 90.

It looked to me like Biloxi had redone most of the sidewalks up and down the US 90 and work was being done on what hadn't been replaced.

The only casino we visited was Hard Rock because my parents had free comped buffet and it looked like they had moved a few machines out into the lobby area since my visit this summer. I'm guessing they had wished they had built the casino a little bit bigger.

All in all though it seemed like all the casinos were busy that day even with the slowing economy which is good news for all the people working in the industy.

[BLX 101]

Originally Posted by Red UM Rebel

I had not heard anything about Wyndham. That is very interesting. Pulling hotels like Hilton and Wyndham will be just another step in the right direction. Having nice non-gaming facilities will be crucial. With the current bust on Condos, nice hotels will serve as a great replacement.

http://biloxi.ms.us/cityatwork/citya...ail.asp?ID=638

[BLX 101]

Originally Posted by Velastor2

The beach seemed to be having major work going on because there was a lot of piles of sand all up and down the beach.

I also saw some other building underconstruction at the street where you turn into Hard Rocks parking deck. I tried to figure out what it was, but I couldn't see a sign from US 90.

It looked to me like Biloxi had redone most of the sidewalks up and down the US 90 and work was being done on what hadn't been replaced.

The sandbeach restoration (replenishment) has been ongoing for several months now and is nearing completion; it looks great. Plans to rebuild the boardwalk and rest stations have been delayed because of the rebuilding of US 90. Mdot says that it would have caused them to not meet their mandatory deadline. All six lanes of the new Biloxi Bay Bridge will open completely this week, coinciding with the completion of US 90 from the bridge to I-110.

The new building under construction at the corner of US 90 and Main Street near Hardrock is McDonald's, with a more architectural friendly facade.

[BLX 101]

Here is my solution to saving some of the large proposed condo projects on West Beach Boulevard. The developers should partner with international hotel chains. This would provide Biloxi with first-class non-gaming resorts to support the expansion of the convention center, thus creating a tier-one destination. The condo towers would be reconfigured to offer traditional hotel rooms, suites and condo units while remaining true to their original designs. The condos could be utilized as condo-tels and leased on short or long term basis. The partnerships would be as follows: Shores of Paradise as a Marriott Resort; Pelican Plantation as a Hilton Resort; Revelay as a Hyatt Resort and a Wyndham Resort at the former Biloxi Beach Inn site just west of Beau View Towers.


http://www.vistaroyaleresort.com/

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3b...issippi_travel

http://www.shoresofparadise.com/

http://www.biloxi.ms.us/PDF/condostatus.pdf


The following resort (designed by Dale & Associates but never built in Panama City Beach, Florida) with two lower flanking towers would make an excellent Biloxi Beach Wyndham Resort just west of the Beau View Tower. During the recent unveiling of the Wyndham Harbour Pointe Resort, company representative Kyle Gagne stated that Wyndham's timeshare division were also interested in developing a Biloxi resort.

http://www.dalearch.com/portfolio/ho...ty/hosp_6.html