February 24, 2026

Biloxi Sees Building Boom Years After Katrina’s Devastation

By Isabella Gomez
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

February 24, 2026

BILOXI, MS. The Gulf Coast of Mississippi has still not fully recovered from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, more than twenty years ago.

Hotels and other businesses have struggled to come back but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the sudden construction boom throughout the area including along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Currently several subdivisions and at least eight hotel projects are currently moving through the approval process in Biloxi, according to the city’s community development director.

And you can see various construction projects underway throughout the area.

Jerry Creel, who serves as Biloxi Planning Commission director, said the projects are at various stages of development.

“We’re working on eight hotels right now that are going through the process,” Creel said. “Some of them have not been to DRC yet.”

Recently, while in the area, I noticed a new hotel going up near a new restaurant.

Two of the projects that Creel mentioned are located at the Fill-up with Billups building and the former Church of the Redeemer property.

Creel said the new hotel rooms are needed to support nearby venues, including the coliseum, and the city’s growing event calendar.

“They need hotel rooms, and we want to make sure we do what we can to get hotel rooms there so we can accommodate all the people that come to these events,” Creel said.

Hotels are needed as more events have been scheduled in recent years and there’s been an uptick of visitors to the area as well.

The hotel push comes alongside the development of multiple new subdivisions across the city. Creel said the combined growth is intended to position Biloxi as a destination for both visitors and residents.

“People love to come to our events, whether it’s a fishing tournament or Cruisin’ the Coast, and when they do, they are going to need a place to stay,” Creel said. “I believe that these hotel developers see that and see that we are a hospitality city.”

Of course, with the building of the hotels, new restaurants and residential communities come jobs and a better quality of life for area residents.