Ann Daigle is coordinating work on a plan

Ann Daigle is coordinating work on a plan to have the Creative Film Arts Program of the University of Southern Mississippi occupy the university’s historic Gulf Coast campus in Long Beach. Hurricane Katrina destroyed some campus buildings in 2005, but three of the oldest prominent structures remain intact except for the gutting of their modern interiors and additions. The hope is that a mixed-use “Campus as Village Center” will become one of the key features of the approximately 60-acre site, says Daigle, a planning consultant based in nearby Pass Christian. The campus is expected to become a center where people will be trained to work in the movie industry. The project would be carried out through public-private collaboration, aided by Long Beach’s adoption of the SmartCode.