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Developers propose 200‑unit Claiborne Apartments for East Biloxi, ask city to release two surplus lots
Summary
SGI Properties pitched a 200‑unit, roughly $40 million Claiborne Apartments project for East Biloxi, asking the city to release two parcels declared surplus under Resolution 262‑26 so the developer can assemble a 4.8‑acre site and pursue HUD and other financing.
Divya Tandon, managing partner of SGI Properties, asked the Biloxi City Council on June 23 to support a proposed Claiborne Apartments development that would bring 200 new apartment homes to East Biloxi.
The presentation said the project would include 100 two‑bedroom and 100 three‑bedroom units, a development cost of about $40 million and construction‑period employment estimated at roughly 250 jobs. SGI said the planned site assembly covers about 4.8 contiguous acres across four owners; the company reported contracts with three owners and asked the city to make available two lots that had been declared surplus under Resolution 262‑26 so the developer can complete site control.
SGI representatives said the site falls in a Qualified Census Tract (QCT), which the team believes will help assemble financing. They described the buildings as elevated, coastal‑style multi‑level apartments built to Energy Star standards, with battery backups for individual units to limit outage impact during storms. SGI offered a project timeline: roughly three months to secure site control, about 10 months to finalize funding, with construction hoped to begin by summer of next year and a three‑year construction schedule if financing and approvals proceed on schedule.
Council members and staff raised implementation questions during consent‑agenda debate later in the meeting: the city requires two independent appraisals when selling surplus land (city pays half), and the contract formula referenced in the staff packet ties the minimum sale price to the appraisal average plus a statutory premium (packet discussion referenced the appraisal process and a 25% premium provision). Council members asked that any contract include deadlines and reversion language in case the developer fails to close within the agreed diligence period. SGI representatives said they would work with the city on those contract terms.
Why it matters: East Biloxi has been a focus of post‑Katrina recovery and the council framed the project as an effort to add workforce housing near transit, local employers and community amenities. If the city moves forward with surplus‑land sales and appraisals, the project will proceed to detailed zoning, planning and financing steps.
The SGI presentation is a request for council support and site access; no final land sale closed during the meeting. The council approved the consent agenda that included discussion of the surplus process and signaled general support, while asking staff and the developer to finalize appraisal and contract deadlines before any land transfer.
Provenance: The presentation and site‑assembly request were introduced by the mayor and discussed by Divya Tandon and Puneet Tandon (transcript segments beginning SEG 056 through SEG 245).
