Rezoning sought for 17 Back Bay acres
Bayshore Drive owners plan condos
BILOXI - Bayshore Drive owners seek condo zoning
The owners of almost 17 acres on the opposite side of Interstate 110 from the IP Casino are asking the city to rezone their properties for condominiums.
Among the property owners is the Ralph and Betty Engelstad Trust, which owns the casino. The other applicants are mostly people who lived along Bayshore Drive before Hurricane Katrina. The properties front Back Bay, west of the interstate.
“I think that would be a good spot for a condominium project,” said Mayor A.J. Holloway. “Everybody has moved out. I don’t know of anybody living in that area or who is planning on going back.”
Among the applicants is the Mississippi Department of Transportation. Southern District Commissioner Wayne Brown said the state agency was probably included because it has excess property from the purchase of land for the Interstate corridor.
A public hearing on the rezoning request is set for 2 p.m. on Dec. 21 before the Biloxi Planning Commission.
The area is currently zoned for single-family residential use, high-density business use and community business use. The applicants are seeking hospitality business status, which allows condominiums. The rezoning would not allow casinos.
Key Largo Holdings, a separate legal entity from the IP casino that is nevertheless affiliated with the casino, has been buying parcels on the east side of the interstate, where the city does allow casinos. The IP uses some of the property for excess parking.
The IP has not announced any expansions, but the casino recently advertised for a director of construction and a construction-cost estimator. The job description included “recent experience in construction estimation from the ground up,” and stated “Prior hotel/resort familiarity in development or construction is a major feature.”
Source: Biloxi Sun Herald