$105M Coast downtown development kicks off with new name, promise of big impacts
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- $105M Gulfport project launches mixed-use district with hotel and apartments.
- 136 apartments and a 114-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio aim to boost foot traffic.
- Parking garage, shopping and dining expected to spur investment in downtown.
The working name of Gulfport Town Center turned over during Friday’s groundbreaking at the corner of U.S. 90 and 49.
The $105 million development now is called Channel South.
“Channel” pays tribute to the manmade channel in Gulfport and “South” honors the Great Southern Hotel that once stood at the site.
It was more than a ceremonial groundbreaking at one of the busiest corners in South Mississippi — it’s the launch of a plan to create a mixed-use district in downtown Gulfport, all within walking distance of the beach, the Amtrak station, Mississippi Aquarium and Jones Park.
Led by Bellamare Development and Gulfport-based AnderCorp LLC, the project layout shows a mix of 136 apartments designed for young professionals, families and retirees, with shopping, dining and a 114-room Marriott Tribute Portfolio hotel, operated by McKibbon Hospitality, with a ballroom, rooftop bar and meeting space. A nearly 300-space parking garage will be available to residents, visitors and to the public, along with surface parking.
“I think this is going to be a great catalyst for the downtown area,” said state Sen. Scott DeLano. The addition of a hotel to the project is exactly what the downtown restaurants need, he said, since there will be a turnover of people every night.
The community may not fully appreciate the effort the developers committed to bring Channel South to the city, he said. “They went through five or six iterations of a project before they landed on something that fits really well,” he said.
Mayor Hugh Keating can envision what the downtown will look and feel like when the parking garage is finished later this year and the hotel, apartments and amenities come online through 2027.
The hotel will be designed to reflect the community and will have an upscale restaurant with an outstanding chef, he said. Young professionals and people working in the blue economy sector will be able to walk or bike to their jobs. They will be able to walk down the street and get a first class meal, he said, or a sandwich.
“This project will be transformative,” he said, with ripples throughout the downtown. Robert St. John, who owns several restaurants in Hattiesburg, is opening The Downtowner restaurant this spring, close to this new project. Besides creating fantastic food and dining venues, Keating said, he promotes them and that will bring more people to downtown Gulfport.
“We’re going to need more retail, and I think that’s going to come,” Keating said. He envisions how a fresh market or a boutique grocery store will be needed, and he’s already getting calls from investors asking what spaces are available and what types of businesses would fit downtown.
“That’s exciting,” the mayor said.
This story was originally published March 20, 2026 at 3:56 PM.
