These two new projects could create one thriving Downtown Biloxi again
Downtown was the thriving business center of the city when Andrew “FoFo” Gilich was young, and now the mayor’s dream of returning the look and feel of “Old Biloxi” is taking two more giant steps forward.
The historic Magnolia Hotel will get new life if the Biloxi Council on Tuesday approves a lease/purchase agreement with Coast hospitality developer Jourdan Nicaud for the three-story hotel with its wrap-around porches and the adjacent lot at 119 Rue Magnolia.
The agreement calls for Nicaud to reopen the hotel with a restaurant, shop and entertainment venue on the first two floors and space for short-term rentals on the third floor.
Nicaud already operates Bacchus Biloxi Beach and Fill-Up with Billups restaurants and Live Oak Lounge in Biloxi, along with Pass Christian Hotel and other restaurants on the Coast, Oxford and Meridian.
Much more for downtown
A block or two away from the Magnolia Hotel, a group of developers is working to restore a stretch of properties along Howard Avenue — once the main street of downtown Biloxi — into a mixed-use project with the working name of The District on Howard Avenue.
“It’s like a puzzle that we’re trying to put together,” said Coast attorney and developer Lee Young. Through Howard Avenue Development LLC, he’s assembled a group of investors and property owners who he said want to see the downtown back to what it was in the 1940s and ‘50s.
The proposal calls for retail and restaurants on the bottom floor with residential above in the historic Barq and Kress buildings and others on the northern side of Howard Avenue.
Young said they’ve been talking to a lot of great restaurants about locating there. “Hopefully there will be some big names mixed in with some local boutiques,” he said.
In with the old and the new
The rendering on display in Biloxi City Hall shows a vision of what could be on Howard Avenue if they take the time to create a mini Beale Street in Biloxi, Young said.
“We want people living, shopping, dining and having fun again,” he said. He sees retro signs, decorative lighting and safe parking as part of the draw that will bring people downtown. Entertainment also is planned, and Young said they’ve talked of setting aside an area where musicians can play open mic style.
“We’re taking a big risk with this but I think it’s going to be successful,” Young said. “We’re working with some local architects,” Young said, to make sure the building look like old Biloxi — but with a modern twist.
What’s next
After decades of the downtown sitting nearly vacant, plans for Howard Avenue are moving along pretty fast, both for the street and the new development, said Mike Leonard, Biloxi’s chief administrative officer.
Crews have torn up the street to make it two-way with parking and sidewalks on both sides again, and he said, “It won’t be very long before you see them put down pavers.” Instead of blacktop, the new Howard Avenue will be paved with brick for an old-fashioned look.
Road work is scheduled to be complete by fall, when the developers can move ahead to restore buildings. Leonard said the developers have taken options on five or six buildings, including The Barq Building. It still wears the unattractive facade of Urban Renewal that hid the original brick behind metal siding.
“That’s where we’re going to start,” Young said. “Once we pull off that metal exterior, then you’ll see big changes.”
Mardi Gras move
The Magnolia Hotel currently is the home of Biloxi’s Mardi Gras Museum, which Leonard said few people ever visit.
“There will be a Mardi Gras Museum,” he promises, and said the city has potential locations.
Mayor Gilich in April proposed renting or leasing the hotel along with the Creole Cottage and said the benefit to the community would be considered along with the price and proposed use.
The rent will be $7,000 a month, or $84,000 a year. Should Nicaud decide to buy the hotel, the cost will be fair market value at the time, not to exceed $800,000.
“It’s a great building,” Nicaud said, and the oldest and only Antebellum hotel on the Gulf Coast. Built as a hotel in 1847 by the Hahn family, it’s also a Mississippi Landmark and the lease the council will be asked to approve calls for it to be a no-smoking establishment.
The city’s also rented the Creole Cottage as an office for $500 a month, with the lease paid a year in advance.
“It sat for 8 years with no income,” he said. The small building was a visitors center before Hurricane Katrina and was moved to Rue Magnolia, near Merit Health Biloxi. Leonard said it is about half the size of the Sleigh House that rents for $750 a month.
Two new hotels in the downtown and construction going on all over the city support the mayor’s “It’s happening now” theme of his 2018 State of the City address, Leonard said.
All the projects that were talked about — “It all starts happening this year,” he said.
This story was originally published August 27, 2018 at 12:00 AM.