Attention business owners! Biloxi Main Street is presenting a new opportunity for a local business to become part of the downtown shopping district by leasing the historic Slay House.
An open house will be held this eventing from 5 to 8 at the house, which is at 128 Rue Magnolia. Main Street will be accepting applications for a new retail business. This is part of a continuing effort to revitalize the Vieux Marche and Rue Magnolia area and encourage entrepreneurs.
“Biloxi is undergoing something of a retail renaissance downtown, and we want to assist anyone interested in joining the area’s long overdue rebirth,” said Biloxi Main Street Director Kay Miller.
The Slay House is situated along a row of historic homes on a shaded pedestrian walkway near Mary Mahoney’s Restaurant, Merit Health and a Coast Transit Authority trolley stop. The House was named for one of its previous owners and was donated to the city by the estate of the developer Al Copeland. The Slay House was originally at the corner of Reynoir and Jackson streets, south of Merit Health, and was moved to its current site in January 2010.
According to the city book “The Buildings of Biloxi: An Architectural Survey,” the home was built between 1893 and 1898 and has a bracketed overhang across the main façade. “Such overhangs,” the book said, “are numerous in New Orleans, but this is one of two extant examples in Biloxi.”
Applications will be available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, Nov. 13 at the Biloxi Main Street office, at the corner of Howard Avenue and Bohn Street. A committee will review and accept the best business proposal. Details: 228-435-6339.
News and notes
Developing issues: This week’s Community Development report has information on proposed changes at Camille and U.S. 90, and Planning Commission action on the ongoing short-term rental issue. To read this week’s report, click here.
City Desk: Chief Administrative Officer David Nichols discusses the revisions that will be made in future infrastructure contracts in this week’s City Desk program. To listen, click here.
Internet initiative: Biloxi residents and businesses will soon be receiving a postcard with information on the initiative to bring ultra-high speed Internet service to the community. To see an online presence for the intiative, which answers frequently asked quesitons about the issue, click here.
City Council: The next scheduled City Council meeting will be Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Biloxi City Hall.
HUD visit: Officials from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development dropped by the Biloxi Visitors Center and Lighthouse Park last week to see how the city had spent Katrina rebuilidng funds. To see photos from the visit, which was coordinated by the Mississippi Development Authority and hosted by Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich, click here.
