Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich on Tuesday will ask the City Council to hire a well-known local architect to help developers present more attractive proposals to the city, and to help spur new development and a more inviting appearance in key areas of the city.
Gilich is asking the council for approval to hire architect Frank Genzer to provide guidance on master planning, historic preservation and conceptual streetscape visioning for several high profile areas of the city, and to present fresh, achievable proposals for large vacant buildings throughout the city, vacant land in east Biloxi, historic sites and city gateways.
The Genzer request is one of nearly two dozen measures on the agenda for the City Council meeting Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. The meeting will be at City Hall; the council has met weekly at the Biloxi Civic Center while the City Hall elevator was repaired.
Among Genzer’s high profile projects in Biloxi have been the original Isle of Capri Caisno Resort, the downtown Biloxi location of Hancock Bank, the post-Katrina remake of Treasure Bay Casino and Hotel, and several Biloxi beachfront homes rebuilt after Katrina.
“We talk about being a tourist city, but, the fact is, we need to take steps to look like one, and this is one of those steps,” Gilich said. “Frank Genzer has a long history of working with our city historic boards and commissions, and he knows the Biloxi ‘sense of place’ and how to make it a reality.”
Among the areas Genzer will be working on are Division Street, to include the corridor west of I-110 to the proposed new Keesler Air Force Base entrance, and eastward from I-110 to Oak Street; the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor, to consider expansion of the marina to include a Fisherman’s Wharf-type development; the area of U.S. 90 from the Biloxi Small Craft Harbor to the Biloxi Bay Bridge, to include upgraded landscaping, lighting and boardwalk extensions; the Back Bay Boulevard corridor from I-10 to Oak Street; and the area fronting the sand beach from Robenberg Avenue to Treasure Bay Casino, to include a festive boardwalk with kiosks and pavilions, and a new boat ramp near Camelia Street.
Read the Genzer resolution
Read the entire council meeting agenda
