BILOXI, MISS. — A joint venture between California-based Universal Music Group (UMG) and hospitality investment firm Dakia U-Ventures has unveiled plans for a $1.2 billion hotel and music-themed entertainment destination in the coastal Mississippi city of Biloxi.
The new development will be the first of the joint venture’s UMUSIC Hotels, with additional locations coming to Atlanta and Orlando. Each hotel and entertainment district is designed to educate guests on the city’s musical heritage and will feature new venues for live performances.
Pyramid Hotel Group, a Boston-based hospitality management firm, has also partnered with UMG and Dakia to operate the hotels. The new hotel and entertainment venue in Biloxi will be developed at the site of the former Broadwater resort. A construction timeline was not released.
The number of hotel rooms was not disclosed, and the joint venture did not specify whether or not the development will include a casino, as many hospitality properties in Biloxi do. Should the project feature a casino, the hotel would then be legally required to have at least 300 rooms, according to regional news outlet nola.com.
Local media outlets have also reported that the price tag of $1.2 billion would make the project the most expensive hotel and resort ever built in the area, eclipsing the $750 million Beau Rivage Resort & Casino that hotel magnate Steve Wynn developed in 1999.
“Every destination holds a great story just waiting to be told through its cultural heritage and its music,” says Robert Lavia, chairman of Dakia U-Ventures. “Through this new concept, we will both help people discover new ways to channel their love for music and the arts and help empower the transformation of communities worldwide through cultural, inspirational, creative and conscious collaboration.”
— Taylor Williams