Plans submitted to the state for a new pier at Veterans Avenue in Biloxi in advance of a casino project show a scaled-down version of what the casino owner originally proposed. A sign posted for years at the RW Development site at U.S. 90 and Veterans Avenue includes a rendering of a pier with three buildings. The developer originally proposed to construct and operate food service, entertainment and recreational businesses on the pier. The application submitted to the Department of Marine Resources pictures a straight pier with one open pavilion and a fishing area at the end. The new plan is the same design as was shown to the Mississippi Gaming Commission in December, when the developer went for site approval. The estimated cost of the pier is $1 million, according to the application, and the purpose is to “provide public access to waterfront and as amenity to future casino site.” The original cost was estimated at $3 million. An application and rendering of a public pier at the foot of Veterans Avenue in Biloxi was submitted to the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources by RW Development, which wants to build a casino at the site along U.S. 90 A sign posted at the site of the future Veterans Avenue Pier in Biloxi on March 5 shows the original design. RW Development leased the property to build the pier and establish control to the waters edge for a casino development. Ray Wooldridge, owner of RW Development, proposes a 350-foot long pier that’s 12 feet wide and will be lighted at night and handicap accessible, according to the application. The covered pier will be 21 feet long and 22 feet wide. As part of the construction, debris will be removed from the pier that was destroyed at that site 19 years ago during Hurricane Katrina. The public has until 1 p.m. on Nov. 12 to comment or object to the application in writing to Katie Nelson at Department of Marine Resources at 1141 Bayview Ave., Biloxi, Mississippi 39530, by email at katie.nelson@dmr.ms.gov or online. It was a 15-year battle for Wooldridge to get site approval from the Gaming Commission in December, and came after legal battles with other casinos and the Secretary of State. The Gaming Commission gave the developer just three years to present final plans to proceed with construction. The commission also required Wooldridge to build the handicapped pier and to maintain the pier for public use. A rendering of the pier RW Development will build as part of its proposed casino development in Biloxi was shown by Terry Moran during the Mississippi Gaming Commission on Dec. 21, 2023. Wooldridge owns property north and south of U.S. 90 and on both sides of Veterans Avenue. He operates Big Play Entertainment Center, with bowling, a roller coaster, go-karts, laser tag and other attractions on the site that will be used for the casino resort. Casino developers on the Mississippi Gulf Coast must meet several requirements, including a 300-room hotel or larger, a minimum of 40,000 square feet of casino space within 800 feet of the mean high water line, a fine dining restaurant and parking for at least 500 vehicles. It also must have a unique, non-gambling amenity designed to grow the Coast casino market and not just draw customers from other casinos. Story Continues Signing a lease with Biloxi in 2021 to build the pier established RW Development’s control of the property to the water’s edge, another requirement for site approval. The pier itself can’t be used for a casino, according to the lease agreement. Whether the pier can be used as the “something unique” remains to be seen, since Biloxi and neighboring cities already have several fishing and recreation piers for public use.
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