A proposal for a mixed-use development that would include 220 residential condominiums and commercial uses on a three-acre site off Water Street in downtown Biloxi will be among the measures before the Biloxi City Council during its meeting on Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.
The development, known as City Place, would involve the former Dees Chevrolet site and land stretching along Water Street from Main to Dukate streets. Two buildings – one five-stories and one standing 11 stories – would house commercial uses on the ground floor, with one-, two- and three-bedroom residential condominiums above.
Developers are seeking to expand the Central Business District zoning to allow the mixed-use.
Another proposal on the council’s agenda is a request for a zoning change that would allow Benachi Place, a development that would include one residential lot and seven duplexes off Querens Avenue.
To see the complete agenda and available resolutions for Tuesday’s meeting, click here.
Biloxi has established a great track record, Holloway tells analysts
If you’re wondering how Biloxi will recover from Hurricane Katrina, just check the city’s track record over the past decade or so, Mayor A.J. Holloway told two groups of financial analysts in New York City this week.
Holloway was asked to update the city’s recovery efforts and future outlook for the two groups, whose members monitor factors influencing the economy and advise would-be investors and developers.
“Today, I come before you to say that right now in Biloxi we’re dealing with some issues that some cities in this country ‘wish’ they had to deal with,” Holloway declared, adding with a smile: “Well, some of them, anyway.
“We have a ways to go, but a lot of people are coming to realize that we were making history before this storm, and we stand poised ready to make history again.”
To read the complete story on Holloway’s New York presentations, and see video from a previous appearance, click here.
More than three-fourths of major traffic signals in place
Motorists traveling U.S. 90 in Biloxi these days will find that traffic signals have been restored at three more locations – at the Beau Rivage parking garage, at Treasure Bay Casino Resort and at Eisenhower Drive – and that all but three of the 52 intersections along U.S. 90 have been re-opened.
Police are advising motorists to use caution in these areas, since the improvements were made in only the last week or so.
In all, about three-fourths of the most vital of the 61 signalized intersections throughout Biloxi have been restored, and city contractors and engineers are working to restore the dozen or so signals on less-traveled roadways, including along Howard Avenue, Division Street and Back Bay Boulevard. The city also has a number of flashing red Stop lights and school crossing signals to replace.
“We’re aware of these signals, and we appreciate everyone’s continuing patience,” Mayor A.J. Holloway said this week. “We’re making sure to follow the proper federal and state procedures in doing this work so that taxpayers in Biloxi are not left with the bill. It’s obviously a time-consuming process, but we’ll get there.”
The three neighborhood streets that remain closed at U.S. 90 are at Kuhn Street in east Biloxi, and at Sadler Beach Drive and Chalmers Drive in west Biloxi.
News and notes
Hear it yourself: You can hear more about the status of traffic signals and other issues in this week’s City Desk program. To listen to the 30-minute webcast, click here.
Traffic Update:To see the daily Traffic Update from the Public Works Department, click here.
An ode to Biloxi Fifteen-year-old Shelby Camille Balius, whose grandparents live in Biloxi, recited a poem she composed about pre- and post-Katrina Biloxi during the City Council meeting on Tuesday. To read the poem, click here.
