William Carey property now under contract to Elliott Homes for residential housing

GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) - New details on plans for a piece of Gulfport’s history are coming to surface.

The Old William Carey beachfront property has gone unused since Hurricane Katrina, but now, developers have plans. Some neighbors aren’t happy.

What once held a long-time beachfront university is up for sale.

The William Carey property is now under contract to Elliott Homes, but the pending transaction leaves nearby residents concerned how the area would be impacted by traffic and future developments.

“We are looking at design concepts for a residential community on the old William Carey property. There’s just so much opportunity there to do something really life changing for the coast,” said CEO Brandon Elliott.

Elliott believes quality of life is a must for local residents.

On March 24, the agency will hold a neighborhood meeting in the Great Southern Club at 6 p.m. to get feedback and concerns from homeowners.

“The entrance monumentation, the curb appeal from Highway 90. We get a lot of traffic from Highway 90, we get a lot of visitors. When people drive by the community, we want people to say, ‘Wow, the coast is special,’” said Elliott.

Adding a park in the subdivision and preserving surrounding oak trees during construction is also on the docket.

Developers in other towns conducted traffic study reviews through the Mississippi Department of Transportation.

“The cities do what they can to have adequate roads, drainage, and whatever it is to keep to the lifestyle at the highest level possible. When you put a development in you’re increasing the tax base for the money that they have to allocate to things like that. We will do whatever we can upfront to try to address those concerns,” said Elliott.

The land is zoned as a residential property.

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