Rebuilding, Redesigning “Main Street” Mississippi

Some of the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina in Bay Saint Louis, a city in Hancock County, Miss., part of the Gulfport-Biloxi area.

 

Mahan Rykiel Associates (MRA), a Baltimore based landscape architectural, urban design and planning firm, is one of the recipients of the first annual Sam Kaye Excellence in Design Award for their work in helping to rebuild six “main street” communities in Mississippi following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The Gulf Coast Katrina recovery team was honored at an award ceremony June 25, 2009 at the Old Capitol Inn in Jackson, Miss.

The design team was led by Randy Wilson of Community Design Solutions and included Arnett Muldrow Associates, The LandPlan Group South, Mahan Rykiel Associates, Stephen Turner Economic Development and Margie Johnson Shop Talk and worked under the direction of Stacy Pair, Southern District Program Manager of MMSA (Mississippi Main Street Association).

The design team was led by Randy Wilson of Community Design Solutions and included Arnett Muldrow Associates, The LandPlan Group South, Mahan Rykiel Associates, Stephen Turner Economic Development and Margie Johnson Shop Talk, working under the direction of Stacy Pair, southern district program manager of the Mississippi Main Street Association. Photo:12 o’clock high, clockwise: Tom McGilloway, ASLA, principal, Mahan Rykiel Associates; Randy Wilson, Community Design Solutions; Sam Kaye, namesake of award; Tripp Muldrow, Arnett Muldrow & Associates.

Tom McGilloway, ASLA and Nate Scott of Mahan Rykiel Associates participating in a design charrette with clients in Hancock County, Miss.

The team focused on implementation strategies for the downtown core areas of six communities along the Gulf Coast: Hancock County (Waveland and Bay St. Louis), Picayune, Gulfport, Biloxi, Ocean Springs and Pascagoula. Working on the project for Mahan Rykiel Associates were Tom McGilloway, ASLA, a principal, and Nate Scott.

Mahan Rykiel Associates is a landscape architectural firm with offices in Baltimore and Hong Kong. The firm has provided design solutions to main street communities in Vermont, Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

This is a Sketch-Up model detailing Biloxi redevelopment plans proposed by the design team.

“The approach was to work directly with property and business owners to ensure implementation strategies were based on the realities of individuals’ plans, not what the consultants thought the plans should be,” explained Tom McGilloway.

The Mississippi Main Street Association, community leaders and local residents realize the tremendous opportunities to rebuild, preserve and strengthen their historic downtown districts and implement long-range plans for their communities. Some of those strategies include a façade master plan and streetscape design in Gulfport, and a comprehensive branding program in Hancock County. Also, property owners in Biloxi are committed to restoring historic façades and working together in the development of their properties and the groundwork for new public spaces is being laid in Pascagoula, Picayune and Bay St. Louis.