February, 2011
By J.R. WELSH
Staff Writer for the Seacoast Echo
The Bay St. Louis beach front will eventually be home to the first hotel built there in decades, under plans approved this week by the City Council.
On Tuesday, council members voted unanimously to approve a height variance allowing construction of Front Street Inn. The variance allows developer Chet LeBlanc to build the structure to five stories, or 12 feet above the height allowed under current zoning restrictions.
LeBlanc, who previously developed the Chapel Hill subdivision on Beach Boulevard, said he hopes to have the hotel completed and opened by the summer of 2012.
"We're going to be in marketing and design within the next six months," he said.
Bay St. Louis officials are currently working on a GO-Zone incentive package, which would offer tax breaks to new businesses of substantial size locating in the city. Should the incentives come into place before construction begins, the new hotel may qualify for the program.
Front Street Inn will be a 32-room hotel, with 16 rooms facing the Bay of St. Louis and the remainder located toward the sides and rear of the building. Some accommodations will be standard hotel rooms, while others will be configured as suites, with bedrooms and separate living areas.
Rooms will rent for $120 to $185 per night, but will be individually owned by investors. A professional management company will then run the enterprise as a hotel, LeBlanc said.
The building's first floor will feature retail spaces, as well as a lobby, day room, and small workout room. Parking for eight to 10 cars will be located in the rear, with parking valet service provided. In addition, LeBlanc said, "we will have upwards of four electric cars available to people who are staying there."
Upon completion, the hotel is expected to have an overall value of around $7 million.
The project initially sparked concern by some neighborhood residents, who questioned the need for a building 62 feet high on the beach front. After the project was approved, LeBlanc said he does not expect to build to the full height allowed by the zoning variance, but requested that much room as a precaution.
The hotel will be the first large-scale private sector tourism project built in Bay St. Louis since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. As the city grows again and tourism slowly returns, LeBlanc is hoping Front Street Inn will find a ready market.
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In addition, LeBlanc said that during his marketing research, he was
encouraged by discussions with officials at Stennis Space Center.
Between travelers employed by NASA, the Naval Oceanographic Office,
NOAA, and other agencies and private companies, a need exists for
hundreds of additional hotel rooms yearly in Hancock County, he said:
"What we're encouraged by is what is happening out at Stennis.
Staff Writer for the Seacoast Echo
The Bay St. Louis beach front will eventually be home to the first hotel built there in decades, under plans approved this week by the City Council.
On Tuesday, council members voted unanimously to approve a height variance allowing construction of Front Street Inn. The variance allows developer Chet LeBlanc to build the structure to five stories, or 12 feet above the height allowed under current zoning restrictions.
LeBlanc, who previously developed the Chapel Hill subdivision on Beach Boulevard, said he hopes to have the hotel completed and opened by the summer of 2012.
"We're going to be in marketing and design within the next six months," he said.
Bay St. Louis officials are currently working on a GO-Zone incentive package, which would offer tax breaks to new businesses of substantial size locating in the city. Should the incentives come into place before construction begins, the new hotel may qualify for the program.
Front Street Inn will be a 32-room hotel, with 16 rooms facing the Bay of St. Louis and the remainder located toward the sides and rear of the building. Some accommodations will be standard hotel rooms, while others will be configured as suites, with bedrooms and separate living areas.
Rooms will rent for $120 to $185 per night, but will be individually owned by investors. A professional management company will then run the enterprise as a hotel, LeBlanc said.
The building's first floor will feature retail spaces, as well as a lobby, day room, and small workout room. Parking for eight to 10 cars will be located in the rear, with parking valet service provided. In addition, LeBlanc said, "we will have upwards of four electric cars available to people who are staying there."
Upon completion, the hotel is expected to have an overall value of around $7 million.
The project initially sparked concern by some neighborhood residents, who questioned the need for a building 62 feet high on the beach front. After the project was approved, LeBlanc said he does not expect to build to the full height allowed by the zoning variance, but requested that much room as a precaution.
The hotel will be the first large-scale private sector tourism project built in Bay St. Louis since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city in 2005. As the city grows again and tourism slowly returns, LeBlanc is hoping Front Street Inn will find a ready market.
Return to the It's News To Me news item page
In addition, LeBlanc said that during his marketing research, he was
encouraged by discussions with officials at Stennis Space Center.
Between travelers employed by NASA, the Naval Oceanographic Office,
NOAA, and other agencies and private companies, a need exists for
hundreds of additional hotel rooms yearly in Hancock County, he said:
"What we're encouraged by is what is happening out at Stennis.
