Hotel Vela just opened in downtown Gulfport along with a speakeasy, new restaurants, a European sandwich shop and a new “Secrets of the Deep” exhibit at the Mississippi Aquarium.
What’s coming next year could rival all that development.
Renowned Mississippi chef Robert St. John will open The Downtowner restaurant in early 2025, serving breakfast and lunch in the nostalgic Triplett-Day building on 14th St. The drugstore opened in 1955 and remained a favorite place to gather in the downtown for 65 years.
Starting in February, Breeze Airlines will fly on Thursdays and Sundays between Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport and Orlando. This opens a travel route for those from South Mississippi wishing to visit Disney or Universal Studios and people from Central Florida who want to experience a South Mississippi Mardi Gras or play the Coast casinos.
A new FitNest gym at 1223 30th Ave. will open around the first of the year in downtown Gulfport, to serve those who work in downtown and potential residents of new downtown housing. And although it won’t be a French restaurant as originally planned, a new business is taking shape at the ornate building at 1321 27th Ave. in Gulfport, said Kristen Garriga, director of Gulfport Main Street Association.
The historical Markham Hotel is being renovated in downtown Gulfport and Mayor Billy Hewes says 2025 is when he hopes the hotel will reopen in the city. Hannah Ruhoff
Mayor Billy Hewes says it could be the year the Markham Hotel, destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, returns to downtown Gulfport. “We believe that the Markham will, once and for all, open in 2025,” he said.
This business boom didn’t just happen, Hewes said, but is an “exciting continuation of efforts” to make the downtown inviting and vibrant.
Gulfport scores new business
Empty buildings are an opportunity and a challenge for downtown Gulfport, Hewes said.
In March, a real estate consultant hired through a grant secured by Gulfport Main Street determined what is needed in the downtown. By far, it is grocery and convenience stores that are lacking, the study shows, with a $77 million gap in what’s needed, and that is expected to grow to $126 million in by 2028.
An empty building with a busted window in downtown Gulfport is both a challenge and an opportunity, says Mayor Billy Hewes. The city is working to find new tenants. Hannah Ruhoff
“We took that market analysis, and we started talking to the real estate agents who had vacant buildings in the area,” Garriga said, “and we started reaching out to some investors.” Through partnerships with Mississippi Power and Coast Transit, “We invited all the investors,” she said. They filled a 39-seat bus and toured 25 properties.
“Out of those 25 vacant properties, within the next two months, eight of those were no longer vacant,” she said. Those businesses, like Tavi’s Salumeria, are opening in remodeled buildings.
Bringing The Downtowner to Gulfport was thanks to Garriga and a local real estate agent. “We contacted them,” Garriga said, after the real estate agent put together a presentation and sent it over to St. John, showing a breakfast restaurant is needed in the downtown.
Backlot at Trackside was a project that would create retail stores fashioned out of restored shipping container that will tie the downtown to the port and give people a new place to shop and gather. Courtesy of Gulfport Main Street
What she’d most like to see in downtown Gulfport is the revival of the plan for The Backlot and the return of more retail to downtown, Garriga said. The plan was to convert shipping containers — a connection to the nearby port — into small incubator retail facilities, along with some office and apartment space.
“I would really like to get that project off the ground. I think it’s needed,” she said. “I think it would be a great asset to bring in these businesses, go into that location with a discount and grow their footprint, and then they could grow into one of our larger buildings.”
Downtown living is the ideal
Hewes said what he’d most like to see return is downtown living. The Gulfport Town Center, a proposed mixed-use project, is still being planned, he said.
“When I say mixed-use, I’m talking about everything from your retail to downtown living to some more restaurants — things that make downtown that is already walkable and enjoyable even more attractive,” Hewes said.
An empty lot in downtown Gulfport is prime space for restaurants, retail or apartments. Hannah Ruhoff
There’s limited available property in the center of downtown, said Brian Bolis, a commercial real estate agent at NAI Sawyer in Gulfport. Each new business that opens pulls similar businesses along, he said.
“It seems to be mainly entertainment centered,” he said, including restaurants, bars and nightlife.
“We’re seeing younger professionals moving into the area, and they want to live in a downtown,” Garriga said. They want be able to walk to the park and shop downtown, she said.
Kristen Garriga, director of Gulfport Main Street Association, wants to see retail return to downtown Gulfport in addition to the restaurants and other businesses opening in 2024 and 2025. Hannah Ruhoff
They could live near the beach in Gulfport and ride the train to work in New Orleans once Amtrak trains return in 2025, said Knox Ross, Southern Rail Commission chairman.
“It’s going to end up making the Mississippi Coast even more livable than it is now,” he said.
By riding the trains, which will run two times a day in each direction, Coast residents will avoid the headaches of traffic backups during the widening of I-10, he said. They will be able to ride the train to Mobile and New Orleans to board a cruise, spend the night before at a nearby hotel, “and probably come out ahead of paying for parking all week,” he said.
Trains delayed but on the way
The Coast has waited since Katrina for Amtrak passenger trains to return to the Gulfport station. Construction issues in Mobile have pretty much dashed hopes for service to start in time for the Super Bowl in New Orleans in February, Ross said.
The latest projection is the train service from New Orleans to Mobile, along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, will roll mid-year 2025, he said.
The railroad tracks run right through downtown Gulfport, bringing Amtrak passenger trains to the city when the service resumes early next year. Businesses like Pop Brothers, just across the tracks, stand to benefit from the foot traffic that officials believe will be generated by trains running from New Orleans to Mobile. Mary Perez
What Amtrak will mean for Gulfport and South Mississippi — “It’s hard to know for sure,” Ross said.
“The biggest thing is it opens up our cities to so much new tourism and opportunity,” he said.
On weekends 100 people could arrive on the Coast from New Orleans and Mobile, “With money to spend,” he said. “They’re coming here for a good experience.”
Every Mississippi city with an Amtrak stop — Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi and Pascagoula — are more walkable since Katrina, he said, which is something a little unique to Amtrak stops.
Penguins and poker chips are draws
“I think Amtrak is going to be great for curiosity seekers who want to experience new communities and not have to do the driving,” Hewes said. “Amtrak will be a great addition to our tourism mix,” he said.
What will make passengers choose to get off in Gulfport for a few hours or an overnight stay could be the penguins at Mississippi Aquarium and the dolphin cruises along the shoreline. They could be drawn by the games at Island View Casino, the beauty of the beaches and the dozens of restaurants and nightlife spots — all within walking distance or a short bus, Uber or cab ride from the station.
The Amtrak boarding platform is ready in Gulfport and the other three cities in South Mississippi where passenger trains will stop starting in 2025. Mary Perez
“We’re ready for it,” said Chris Foret, assistant executive director of Coast Transit Authority, which has bus pickup locations in downtown Gulfport.
An attractions link on their website shows all the places people can visit on the CTA bus routes, he said, such as Route 34 to Gulfport’s TrainTastic, the largest model train experience in the country.
The top thing to do on the Coast is “put your toes in the sand,” Foret said, and CTA has free trolleys that run from March to Labor Day between the CTA hub next to the aquarium, over U.S. 90 to Jones Park and the beach. CTA also has scenic trolley rides down the Coast and the Casino Hopper that comes through Gulfport every 20-25 minutes, he said, and connects to Biloxi casinos.
Here’s who says they’ll ride the trains
An online survey earlier this year asked if Amtrak service is restored from Mobile through Mississippi to New Orleans, how many times a year would people use it.
Some said they would ride just once or never, while others were excited about the possibilities.
Among the answers were:
“Depends on the price and speed.”
“We fly into New Orleans a couple times a year to see family in Mobile so it would be great to just ride with the kids on the train rather than driving the 2.5 hours.”
“Not having to drive crazy I-10 to NOLA, count me in 4 or 5 times a year. Love taking the train. Naysayers will always be the loudest in any conversation.”
Would be great. Go to conferences and things for work there somewhat often and would definitely use it so I could work on the way.”
“The ability to go to the see friends, have a meal and a couple of drinks and not have to worry about the ride home is worth it for me.”
“Probably at least a few. I hope the tracks go to other places though. I’d like to see more of the USA without driving or flying.”
One of the perks of Amtrak coming to Gulfport, Ross said, is from there, people can ride the trains throughout the U.S. and Canada.