In an effort to continue rebuilding efforts along the gulf coast, officials and local residents in Mississippi recently celebrated the ground breaking on a 209-unit housing complex for low-income elderly residents in Biloxi. The Santa Maria del Mar Retirement Apartment Complex, sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, was badly damaged in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The project is being reconstructed with $29.2 million in public assistance funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and is targeted towards low-income seniors in the region. The retirement community will have 135 efficiency apartments and 74 one-bedroom apartments, just as the complex held before the storm.
“Today’s groundbreaking signifies another step in the Gulf Coast’s recovery,” Gov. Haley Barbour said. “Santa Maria del Mar provides needed affordable housing to our senior citizens. I appreciate the efforts of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, Catholic Charities and the Catholic Diocese in planning this much-needed housing project. I also want to thank Sen. Thad Cochran and Sen. Roger Wicker for their support in getting this project funded and moving forward.”
