A developer wants to build upscale townhouses near casinos and the beach in East Biloxi
Much of Point Cadet in East Biloxi is still empty lots 17 years after Hurricane Katrina, providing space for a townhouse project proposed in walking distance to three casinos.
The townhouses at Maple and Tchula streets went before the Biloxi Development Review Committee Tuesday.
Designs by the Pickering Firm, an architectural and design company, show 28 townhouses in four buildings.
The townhouses will be three stories, said Cara Wagner, an engineer at the Biloxi firm. Parking and patio space will be on the ground level, topped by two floors of living areas, with 880 square feet of space per floor.
The townhouses will be built by Elliott Homes on property the company will purchase from the Biloxi Housing Authority. The buildings will be south of the Cadet Point Senior Village.
“They’re going to be long term rentals for us,” said Josh Fleming, land acquisition manager for Elliott Homes.
The company has built single family homes across all three counties, and Fleming said Elliott homes now has rental properties under development in South Mississippi in addition to building homes for sale.
Why townhouses in East Biloxi?
Some of the top urban designers in the country came to South Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina to help local officials see what could work best in their communities as they rebuilt.
In East Biloxi, where small homes on small lots were washed away during the hurricane, the designers said apartments, townhouses and workforce housing in walking distance to the casinos would be the ideal way to redevelop the low-lying space.
The Maple Street townhouses, which Fleming said won’t get an official name until the project goes through the planning and permitting phase, would be a few blocks from Palace Casino, Golden Nugget, Harrah’s Gulf Coast and Margaritaville Resort. Hard Rock Casino and Beau Rivage Resort and Casino are less than a mile and a half away.
The townhouses will have two to three bedrooms and two bathrooms.
Fleming said the townhouses will be built with higher quality materials and finishes, and will be priced at around $1,500 to $2,000 a month.
Built with unique design
The exterior of the townhouses will be done in beach colors of yellows, whites and blues to fit the location, Fleming said.
Parking will be accessed from behind the townhouses, Wagner said, and the front of each townhouse will have distinctive architectural details so they won’t all look the same.
All the protected trees on the block will remain, said Biloxi arborist Eric Nolan, except for one that is in poor condition.
The developer will ask for Planned Development — Residential zoning, or PDR, which means it will go before the Biloxi Planning Commission and City Council for review.
A project like this needs the flexibility of a PDR to establish design standards, said Biloxi Community Development Director Jerry Creel, “especially down in East Biloxi.”
There are few neighbors, other than those who live in the senior village immediately to the north. The developer still would be required to meet safety standards and requirements for building in a velocity zone.
