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12-THE SEA COAST ECHO, HANCOCK TODAY SPECIAL EDITION, JUNE 29, 1997
Casino may help growth in Diamondhead
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Country club rebuilding
Construction of Diamondhead Country Club is underway. The $2.5 million structure is expected to be complete in September or October. The 23,000-square-foot facility replaces the original club that burned two years ago.
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BY MARY G. SEILEY
Almost everywhere, you can hear hammers and saws wielded by hard-hatted10^ ers. They are, these days, as much a part of Diamondhead’s landscape as the!95 cured lawns, the golf carts and the stately trees that grace the terrain. 0ll
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Fifty dwellings are in the making currently, and it’s expected a total of lfjn. have been added to the resort community’s stock by the close of the yef^i
And every year, the annual building rate is rising for the Hancock Q>d community.	[}i
That kind of growth, however, is nothing compared to what will likely happer— or two proposed casinos materialize nearby.	^
“If they should come here — if it should happen — you won’t see growth hei' ' more. You’ll see an explosion,” says Jim LeDuc, general manager of the Diamon r Property Owners Association.
LeDuc, who assumed his position in January, estimates each casino would e^i
2,000	to 2,500 workers. Each casino workforce probably would include 500 empjc who could afford to buy or build in the nearby diamondhead area, says LeDuc. “)^i see a thousand homes being built,” as a result of the casinos, he adds.
Even without a possible “explosion” in numbers, however, Diamondhead’s growth already has wrought significant changes in the community’s demogrfs
“It used to be that most of the residents of Diamondhead were retirees or appo ing retirement,” he said, “now we’re seeing a huge influx of younger families, pui ing homes in Diamondhead, still in a working environment... commuting to Slv New Orleans or Stennis. Casinos have brought in a lot of younger fami^i
That was evident just the other day when the POA held a sign-up for youth ball. LeDuc says 188 children enrolled on the first day.	i
The younger faces make Diamondhead all the more like a bonafide city inf And it’s a city that has a fresh coat of paint, among other changes LeDuc has s, fruition.	,
Last year, a newly-elected POA board of directors fired its general managi, hired LeDuc. The former general manager sued the POA and the POA counte The court action is pending, but the controversy, says LeDuc has sul substantially.
"There's always going to be some controversy when you have 5,000 residents community, whether it’s a small village or a town.. .But, by and large, things h settled down tremendously. . .If (a planned casino in Diamondhead} should ci here, uou won't see arowth anumorp. .Ymi’ll kpp nn pmlncinn	>//-) c^> r, o