Mayor A.J. Holloway and members of the Biloxi City Council will tour the $16 million Kroc Center in east Biloxi this morning, a day after the mayor proclaimed 2011 to be a year of ribbon cuttings and building dedications.
The mayor and council will be briefed on the status of the building, which the Salvation Army is constructing on Division Street, at the site of Yankie stadium.
The center is scheduled to feature an indoor lap pool, an outdoor recreational pool, a performing arts center, a gymnasium, and a library. It will also provide an area for several community programs.
The establishment of Kroc centers began in 2003, when Joan Kroc, the widow of McDonald’s restaurant founder Ray Kroc, donated $1.5 billion to the Salvation Army for the purpose of creating Ray and
Joan Kroc Corps Community Centers throughout the country.
The Salvation Army divided the gift into equal amounts to each of the four sections of the country. In the Southern Salvation Army territory there are 10 cities to be selected as Kroc Center sites, and Biloxi is the only in Mississippi.
Mrs. Kroc, who died in 2003, visited Biloxi unannounced before choosing to build a Kroc center in east Biloxi.
Before the storm, the Salvation Army was within months of breaking ground.
To see renderings and read more about the Kroc Center in Biloxi, click here.
News and notes
Council agendas: Winners of the annual Mardi Gras shoebox float contest and rules of the St. Patrick’s Day parade in Biloxi will be recognized at the City Council meeting this afternoon. To see the full agenda for the council’s day, click here.
State of the City: Full video of the mayor’s State of the City address will be online later this afternoon, but CableOne subscribers in Biloxi can see the entire 30-minute multi-media presentation today at noon, 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. on Cable 13.
