Isle of Capri Expansion
This is more great news for Biloxi and Mississippi. Just another sign that the growth after Katrina is going to be amazing.
1.8-acre wetlands filled in already
By TOM WILEMON
BILOXI - Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. is shortening the brand name of its Biloxi property to The Isle with its $180 million expansion.
The expansion, when complete in May 2009, will put a casino immediately adjacent to the the property’s parking garage along with restaurants and bars. It will also allow ballroom and convention space - currently converted into a gambling floor - to go back to its intended use.
Casino executives unveiled the new logo and other details of the expansion in a workshop with the Biloxi City Council on Tuesday morning. The council unanimously approved the expansion plan in a follow-up meeting the same afternoon.
The council had tabled the request last week to learn more about the project.
Council members could not understand why the Isle had filled in 1.82 acres of the Mississippi Sound before the master-plan amendment came before them. They questioned whether there had been adequate notice of the plan to fill in the wetlands and said they did not know about it. The Isle got approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and a permit from the city planning department. But the council had not signed off.
The Department of Marine Resources held two public meetings on the project; both were reported in the Sun Herald. DMR commissioners tabled the casino’s request at their July 18 hearing and later approved the plans Aug. 15.
Some Biloxi residents and council members did not learn the wetlands would be filled until recently.
“If this is approved, how are we going to stop the other casinos from doing the same thing?” asked Cynthia McEldowney, an East Biloxi resident.
Another city resident, Mike Hutter, endorsed the project.
“I think the design is good,” he said. “I think it’s a good use of the property.”
Isle executives said they are committed to investing in Biloxi, but they could not provide a timetable for when they might do something with their property on the north side of U.S. 90. Although the Isle has done master planning for both sides of the highway, its focus has been to get its existing property redeveloped, said Greg Guida, a senior vice president with The Isle.
Source: Sun Herald