Holloway: ‘This will be the year’

Mayor A.J. Holloway used a multi-media presentation today to take audience members inside the myriad city facilities that have been restored in the past year, and he also had a message for the State of the City audience: 2011 will be the year when Biloxi re-asserts its leadership role in culture, history and quality of life.

In a 30-minute address to a sold-out crowd of 700, Holloway used photographs and video to show the refurbishment of a dozen city assets — including the Biloxi Lighthouse, City Hall, the Old Brick House, the Magnolia Hotel, and public marinas and piers — and he gave a preview of two facilities that are scheduled to open this summer: the new Lighthouse Park and Visitors Center, and the new library and cultural center.

“This will be the year when all of the things we WERE doing — the design work, the breaking ground and so forth — all of THAT will produce tremendous results,” Holloway said. “This will be the year when we cut ribbons and dedicate buildings. This will be the year when we plant a flag and say, ‘Here’s why Biloxi is the name that people know, and here’s why Biloxi is the place that people love.’ ”

The mayor also outlined the city’s upcoming infrastructure work — a $355 million project that will see the repair or replacement of more than a hundred miles of streets, and replacement of than a million feet of sewer, water and drainage lines throughout the city. The mayor also showed audience members renderings of more than $200 million in new development throughout the city.

More coverage online now, replay on Cable 13 Tuesday

— To see more than 150 pictures from today’s luncheon, click here.

— To read the prepared text of the mayor’s remarks, click here.

— To see the 10-minute video from today’s presentation, click here.

— CableOne, as a public service, will show the entire speech on Tuesday at noon, 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Cable 13 in Biloxi.