Construction sites coming to life in Ocean Springs

Ocean Springs is building their economy from the ground up.

You may have driven past the construction site, but had little idea what was being built. Just off Interstate 10 on Washington Avenue in Ocean Springs on the corner of Lemoyne Boulevard sits over 6,000 square feet of what will become a new Race Trac gas station set to open December 12^th of this year. District Supervisor Troy Ross said, “It is right by Interstate 10 and really what the goal ought to be is to get them off I-10 and get them on Highway 90 so they can spend money downtown in all our cities. The nicer amenities you have to pull them off the interstate, the more of an opportunity you have to put that hook and draw tourists in for long term.”

That’s just what Ocean Springs appears to be doing. A long-awaited $10 million development, the Inlet, is also coming to fruition on Highway 90 across from CVS officially opening February 1^st, 2019. “It’s well underway. If you drive by you can see they’re starting to finish up the outsides. It’s going to be a mix-use. It’s not only going to be commercial. It’s going to have places for people to live, too,” said Ross.

The Inlet will have five buildings, 95 condos, and plenty of floor space for shops and restaurants on the first floor. Director of asset management for the developers of the project, Tracy Ross, says although they don’t yet know what retail or restaurants will fill the space, weather permitting, they plan to have residents move in by October or November.

Between building new gas stations or the Inlet condos and restaurants in Ocean Springs, Troy Ross says they’re not just building buildings; they’re building up the economy. “If you look along 609 around Jackson County, the growth is really starting to boom in the area. So, I think we can officially say we’re starting to get out of the overcast of Katrina and then the oil spill. I think we can say that Jackson County is back on its feet and the economic engine is roaring again.”