New Condos Make City "Walkable"

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS - The new Guyton Place condominiums take the city back to a more historic time, Mayor Connie Moran said Thursday at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the development. "It's the way Ocean Springs was 100 years ago a walkable community," she said. More than 50 city officials, Realtors and curious potential buyers gathered for the ceremony and open house at 922 Porter Ave.

Of 22 residential units, Guyton Place had 15 that have not been leased, reserved or sold as of Thursday afternoon, according to information from Coldwell Banker Alfonso Reality Inc. Unit prices range from $199,500 to $239,500.

All condos are two stories with one bedroom and one or 1cm HALF bathrooms, and the first level is designated as commercial space, realtors said.

Moran said the condos add "vibrancy" to downtown by bringing in more residents and businesses and are likely to encourage more downtown residential and commercial development.

Developed by Lodging and Leisure Group LLC, Guyton Place is being promoted as "colorful living in an artful town." Located in downtown near the corner of Porter and Washington avenues, Guyton Place is within walking distance of many of the city's destination eateries and boutiques.

Margaret Miller, executive director of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce, said Guyton Place is "wonderful housing," but also rare as a three-story building in the downtown area, where few buildings especially housing are more than one or two stories. "It has accomplished something I thought wasn't possible in downtown Ocean Springs," Miller said.

Carlene Alfonso, a broker with Coldwell Banker Alfonso Reality, said despite the downturn in the national economy, there's a market for housing that is within walking distance of their favorite destinations.

As a mixed-use community, the condos follow SmartCode guide lines by having office space downstairs and residential space above that, Alfonso said. SmartCode is an optional development code that emphasizes, among other things, pedestrian-friendly community development.