After Hurricane Katrina, the city of Gulfport, MS and the Mississippi Development Authority asked Gorman & Company to take on a very difficult rehabilitation development. The Emerald Pines Apartments were formerly known in Gulfport, MS community as Edgewood Manor, and before that as the notoriously dangerous Red Bull apartments. The buildings and property were severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. After Katrina, Edgewood Manor, and the plight of its residents, was featured in a wide variety of media including the Oprah Winfrey Show, Anderson Cooper, Bill Moyer’s Journal, and the New York Times. The development became a poster child nationally for how poor people were left behind in the aftermath.
Gorman & Company worked closely with HUD, the Mississippi Home Corporation, and the Mississippi Development Authority to finance a major renovation of the devastated 120-unit property. Emerald Pines is now a fully renovated community that provides its residents with job training and life counseling services. The property has helped transform a crime and drug infested area of Gulfport into a safe, stable, and affordable community. Amenities include a new community and learning center, splash park, tot lot, state-of-the-art security systems, and new lighted pedestrian pathways.
