Bollards, Barnacles, and Blackjack

Gaming is bringing new revenues to tired and abandoned waterfronts and is serving as a catalyst for the regeneration of coastal communities. As an ultimate evolution of the gaming business into a self contained fantasy world, a new "port facility" is being designed in the Mississippi Sound, on the coast of Biloxi, Mississippi, to berth casino barges. As an unconventional port concept, the facility is being designed to cluster six large floating casinos into a single dedicated waterfront setting. The economic and environmental goal of clustering the casinos together is to consolidate infrastructure, leverage the synergy of the activity, and eliminate the sprawl and impact of linear development along the coastline. The port facility will be constructed on newly filled land that projects seaward from an existing made-made peninsula. The filled area will be crescent-shaped creating a protected inner lagoon that will berth the floating casinos and a small craft harbor with 400 boat slips. The facility supports land-based amenities that include hotels, parking, commercial/retail areas, entertainment, and public spaces. This paper discusses the planning and design of the facility that must handle 20,000 patrons a day in a setting that is both environmentally sensitive and hurricane-prone.