Page 110 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2019

THIS CITY SPONSORED BY
WAVELAND ATTRACTING NEW RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES
CITY
CLOSEUPS
CITY OF
WAVELAND
story by Lynn Lofton photos courtesy of The City of Waveland
Waveland City Hall 228.467.4134 www.waveland-ms.gov
Waveland Mayor Mike Smith has a message for anyone or any business considering re-locating to this Hancock County city — “You’re going to love it.”
He explains that the city of approximately 7,000 residents is affordable and has many
amenities and projects about to begin or be completed. However, he feels the city’s people are the best thing. “Everyone you see is always polite; there’s a feeling of being home,” he said.
Smith also lists the beach, the beautiful Veterans’ Memorial, Buccaneer State Park and the Ground Zero Museum as popular attractions. “We’re the western-most city on the Coast and our beaches don’t have a lot of traffic. You can sit and have some quiet time; that’s one of our best selling points,” he said. “We have the longest municipal fishing pier on the Coast and it’s free to use. Plus, we’re finishing the elevated public restrooms on the beach at the end of Coleman Avenue.”
Other city projects taking shape in
2019 include a new community center in MLK Park, drainage and sidewalk improvements on both sides of Waveland Avenue, and the re-surfacing of Nicholson Avenue with the addition of bike lanes. “We encourage people
to get outside and enjoy what we have here,” Smith said.
Additionally, Buccaneer State Park is scheduled to receive $12 million worth of improvements beginning this year.
“Our main focus will be the development of Coleman Avenue. We need more retail on the south side,” the mayor said. “It’s been a struggle with the elevation requirements we have. We don’t have buildings to renovate because everything south of the tracks was decimated by Hurricane Katrina. Now we do have several businesses looking at opening here.”
He points out that the building housing the Ground Zero Museum was the only municipal building south of the railroad tracks that was standing after the storm’s wrath, and part of it was destroyed. “Some of our citizens gathered up the bricks and rebuilt that part of the structure,” he said. “The museum is not just about the hurricane, it has local history in it too.”
110 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • January 2019
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