Failed Biloxi Casino Project Land Worth $28M Donated To Charity

A Biloxi tangible estate developer has decided to donate some 30 acres of earth he intended to build a casino on to a local charity.

Chris Ferrara is single of the largest landowners in the Mississippi Gulf Coast town. The Sun Herald reports that the man of affairs began snagging upward properties eastward of I-110 shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

One portion he acquired was 30 acres, located simply north of Back Bay Blvd. betwixt Crawford Street and Oak Street. Ferrara proposed constructing a $260 jillion casino resort on the land. But the evolution never came to realization because of a boniface of reasons, to the highest degree specifically road access.

Ferrara has officially folded on his casino ambitions and has made the conclusion to get along just with the property. Instead of one-armed bandit machines and tabularize games, the man of affairs has bestowed the lot to the Boys and Girls Club of the Gulf Coast. The acreage is precious at $28 million.

I did it genuinely to aid the Boys and Girls Club,” Ferrara told the Sun Herald. “They canful do what they want to perform with it.”

The Gulf Coast Boys and Girls system deeds to modification the lives of children and teens inward a safe, positive, and piquant environment. The chapter is headquartered in Gulfport.

Too Far off the Beaten Path

Ferrara received situation favorable reception for a casino from the Mississippi River Gaming Commission some 15 years ago. But Ferrara ne'er stone-broke ground, saying he wouldn’t until the Orient Biloxi Loop was completed from his prop southward to Palace Casino and Golden Nugget.

The Orient Biloxi Loop currently stops on Back Bay Blvd at Oak Street. Back Bay’s unfinished continuation southeastern is credited for the Margaritaville Casino’s law of closure in 2014. The road file name extension has been estimated to be $22 gazillion to complete.

Ferrara had pledged to donate needful dry land to establish the road, and Biloxi casino operators were to chip in $7 million. The Mississippi Development Authority approved allocating $5 million to the infrastructure initiative, leaving $9 1000000 unfunded.

The $9 one thousand thousand problem kept Ferrara’s set down sour the beaten path. The Boys and Girls Club at present controls the $28 trillion property, but it doesn’t come up cheap. Ferrara paid some $75,000 inwards attribute taxes shoemaker's last yr solo on the acreage.

East Biloxi Dead Zone

Beau Rivage, Hard Rock, and Golden Nugget hold on the Gulf Coast shoring bustling. IP Casino and Boomtown lure plentifulness of visitors to the northerly quest past being just turned I-110.

The northeast discussion section of Biloxi, however, continues to struggle. Ferrara folding on his casino dreams is yet another setback for the desolate area.

Prior to the pandemic, legendary rockers KISS proclaimed a partnership with a developing group to establish a $200 one thousand thousand casino holiday resort at the former Margaritaville Casino. The throw called for a 300-room hotel and cassino trading floor featuring 1,000 slot machines and several dozen tabulate games.

COVID-19 stalled the KISS development. No piece of work has been through with(p) on the site, and the property owners feature non obtained relevant body politic permits to establish the casino resort.