New developments coming to Pascagoula’s Lowery Island

WLOX , April 26, 2025 —

PASCAGOULA, Miss. (WLOX) - A whopping 4.4 million dollar project is paving the way for the city of Pascagoula to establish its very own municipal marina.

Mayor Jay Willis said this long-wished-for project spanning nearly 15 years is a big moment for the city. Although work has not yet begun, the excitement has already started.

“We are the only town on the coast that we can think of that doesn’t have its own municipal marina,” he said. “Our citizens are going to be really excited about it, and the reaction we’ve gotten to this point is quite positive. It’s exciting for the city because it brings an opportunity for boat owners to get their boats out of their backyards or in their front yards, in some cases.”

It’s here at Lowery Island where a boat storage facility, a public docking area and a redeveloped hub will feature a locally owned restaurant, bait shop and fuel dock.

“This is something that we worked on years ago when I was park and recreation director,” Ward 3 councilwoman-elect Darcie Crew said.

11 years later, some question why it’s taken so long. Crew says a few bumps in the road led to delaying the project from coming to life.

“While we had the marina in mind at the time, there was some obstacles in the way that we couldn’t overcome,” she said.

“So we were able to move the money to improve River Park itself to improve parking and handicap accessibility. As well as the boat ramp and the morph and fuel stations that our citizens are enjoying today,” Crew said.

Construction can be seen already happening at the River Park Pier.

It is a different project, but it still falls under the city’s testament of improving what some say is an underutilized area.

Some community members were worried about their tax dollars being spent to fund this project, but that’s not the case, according to Community Relations Director Lindsay Mitchell.