Diamondhead Casino finalizing master plan
By wavelandwatchers
Officials of the Diamondhead Casino Corporation said this week they are committed to bringing a casino resort to Hancock County and are currently finalizing a master plan for the project.
In October, the Hancock County Planning and Zoning Commission extended a special use district permit for DCC, but the commission stated it wanted to see a master plan by the end of 2010.
DCC Chief Executive Officer Deborah Vitale said Tuesday the master plan was already under way before the commission asked for it.
“Our intention is to build something that will give Hancock County the tax revenue it is looking for, but also be an enhancement to Diamondhead,” Vitale said.
“We have something that nobody else has. We have space. Our location is special.”
DDC owns about 404 acres of land south of Diamondhead and extending about two miles towards the Harrison County line.
In September, DCC entered into an agreement with EDSA Inc., to design and prepare a master plan.
Local firm Compton Engineering has also assisted DCC with survey work in the past year.
Vitale said the plan should be complete well before the end of next year.
She said preliminary plans include a casino resort with an entertainment center and even a wedding chapel.
Other amenities include an international buffet, small business center, swimming pools and much more, she said.
“I promised the people of Diamondhead that we were not going to build a truck-stop or slot-parlor,” Vitale said. “It’s going to be very pretty and something that will enhance the community.”
County tax records show that the company pays more than $44,000 per year in property tax because of the special use district.
The initial special use district was granted in 1998, officials said.
Over the past ten years, there have been several joint-ventures with casino groups proposed for the property, but no casino has been built.
Since Katrina, the company has issued several press releases about possible partners for the project, including real estate mogul Donald Trump and Casinos Austria, an international casino company.
Earlier this year, a different casino company, Jacobs Entertainment, sought to obtain a zoning change to place a casino in the same vicinity as the DCC casino.
That project was shot down by the board of supervisors.
DCC however, already has a zoning change.
Vitale said if all goes well, the project should begin moving forward in the next year.
“We’re in discussions with people right now,” she said. “This is going to be a very exciting project.”
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