$25M parking garage opens at Scarlet Pearl Casino

A $25 million parking garage opened Thursday at Scarlet Pearl Casino Resort, with a new clothing boutique and a stretch of food outlets to soon follow.

Architect Nory Hazaveh with SOSH in New York, designer of the resort that opened in December 2015, returned to create a parking garage that doesn’t have customers driving in circles. In this garage, a speed ramp makes it a straight shot to enter or exit rather than circling each floor.

The seven-story garage on the east side of the resort also is equipped with bright LED lights, and what President and CEO LuAnn Pappas said are the most security cameras of any casino parking garage in South Mississippi. Counting valet spaces on the ground level, the garage built by Roy Anderson Construction has 1,100 parking spaces.

Those who prefer can continue to use the nearby parking lots, but when all the improvements are done, they will miss the grand entry Hazaveh designed from the garage. The moment they enter, customers will feel the cool air and see swirls on the ceiling and floor that evoke the pattern that extends throughout the casino.

“We celebrated the wave,” he said.

Coming soon will be water features on either side, one of the fountains backed by a massive slab of red Italian marble. Opening in about four weeks, upscale boutique Frankly My Dear to the right of the entry will offer clothing, jewelry and accessories for men and women. To the left of the entry will soon be Lounge Nocherie, a row of retail food outlets featuring ice cream, candy, a coffee shop and bar.

Scarlet Pearl owner Bob Granieri came up with the names of these new amenities and said more are to come, and a second hotel tower in the plans.

“We plan to be the leader here,” he said.

Pappas said they listen to the customers requests. A poker room was added, the buffet was expanded and the parking garage built at a cost of about $25,000 per space. She said the vibrant work of artist Peter O’Neill, a New York artist who has two galleries in New Orleans and a new one in Key West, will be displayed throughout the casino and can be purchased or acquired using casino points.

Among the next amenities that will be added, she said, are a spa, health club and a nightclub.

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