LONG BEACH, Miss. (WLOX) — Just steps from the water, a new chapter for Long Beach is almost ready to open.
Workers are transforming this waterfront stretch into the Long Beach Gateway, giving visitors a front-row seat to the Gulf and a place to unwind.
Mayor Tim Pierce says the long-awaited gateway is almost ready to welcome the public within the next couple of weeks.(WLOX)
Mayor Tim Pierce says the progress is already turning heads outside Long Beach.
“All I hear from people from other towns is, ‘Man, this is really going to look good,’ so it’s coming, and we’re getting very, very close,” Mayor Pierce said.
A new welcome tower and custom-branded swings will greet visitors as they step onto the plaza. It’s a small footprint with a massive view, offering everyone a new place to slow down.
The new welcome tower at the Long Beach Gateway. (WLOX)
“It’s a wonderful calling card for the city, for people driving through. And quite frankly, it’s the kind of thing that a city needs to have to make sure that people from the outside know that there’s a good thing going on inside,” Harbor View Cafe manager and former Long Beach mayor Robert Bass said.
Custom-branded swings will greet visitors as they step onto the plaza.(WLOX)
Just minutes down the road on Jeff Davis Avenue, Harbor View Cafe hopes the Gateway sparks a boost in foot traffic.
“There are some people that I haven’t seen probably in three or four years at all, who will pop in here once every nine or 10 months. Like, wow, I used to see you every weekend, and now you’re not here,” Bass said.
Robert Bass, the manager of Harbor View Cafe, served as Long Beach’s mayor from 1997 to 2004 and says big projects are always a test of patience.
“When you’re dealing with government money, the process moves extremely slowly,” Bass said. “And for us to be getting to this point now, I mean, there’s not a day where there wasn’t something being done to work on this project.”
From the beachfront to the dining room, Bass sees a major boost on the horizon for everyone.
“Anytime you get somebody to have the potential to bring in more people in your community, it’s going to be a win-win,” Bass said.
The long-awaited gateway is almost ready to welcome the public.
“This is a dream come true. We are so close to this Gateway Project coming to completion,” Mayor Pierce said.
Mayor Pierce hopes to have the gateway open to the public within the next couple of weeks.
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