Presales have begun on 105 units in the first tower at Bel Air Towers at Mariner Lakes, off Loop Road in Orange Beach, according to David Abel of the Broadmoor Group, the project developers. The property is north of Bruno's Shopping Center and has deeded beach access.
The 20-story tower will have 16 floors of residential units and four floors for parking. The one-bedroom, two-bath units are priced at $399,900 and include a media room. The two-bedroom, two-bath units with media rooms range from $459,900 to $489,900.
The amenities include an indoor heated pool, outdoor pool, fitness center, tennis courts and clubhouse.
There will be four towers with a total of 480 units when the project is complete.
Construction should begin by midsummer on Tanners Way, a 40-unit condominium complex on West 36th Avenue in Gulf Shores, according to Hugh Headrick of REMAX of Orange Beach, whose sales team is marketing the units. The 1,100-square-foot, two-bedroom units are priced at $176,000 and the 1,750-square-foot, three-bedroom units go up to $275,000, he said. The developers are Joe Garris Sr. and Phillip Martin, and the contractor is Duke Construction. There will be five buildings, and condo sales will go to straight to hard contract.
Yes, let's be as clear as possible about this. The Alabama Gulf Coast is open for business. Thinking about a summertime vacation getaway? Book your travel to Gulf Shores, Orange Beach or any other destination on the Alabama Gulf Coast. The beaches are gorgeous. Condos, Bed & Breakfasts, vacation rental homes, hotels... they're all up and running and ready to accommodate you and your family.
It's all here at the Alabama Gulf Coast, just waiting for you.
...Orange Beach and neighboring Gulf Shores had an almost sold-out Memorial Day weekend _ with about 13,000 rental units occupied. Officials hope to repeat that success on the Fourth of July.
It's a buyer's market on Gulf beach condos
Looking for beach front property along the gulf? If you are, local realtors say the market is ripe for the pickings. Prices on condos and gulf-front homes in areas like Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan are dropping, and some of the savings can add up to more than $100-thousand. NBC 15's Baldwin County Reporter Leon Petite has details in this report.
Remember what the real estate market was like just before and just after Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina? Beach front homes were selling like hot cakes. You heard a lot of terms like "condo flipping" being talked about up and down the beach. Property owners were selling condos before they were even built. In some cases, they were selling for more than what they were actually worth, but a lot has changed at the beach. Real Estate officials say prices are coming back down to earth.
Business is picking up across all fronts along the gulf shores.
Business booms as key continues recovery efforts
On Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, a record number of diners ate at Lillian's Pan Pizza on Perdido Key Drive.
"We had the busiest day we've ever had since we opened in 1990," restaurant co-owner Lillian Walsh said.
and
"Based on this weekend and what we've seen through the spring and snowbird season, we are really gearing up for a tremendous season and praying like the dickens the Lord keeps us storm-free," Marnell said.
and
Some units were destroyed, and others are under repair. Marnell estimated the number of remaining condominiums at around 1,200, with about 850 available for rental.
It's going to be a busy summer this year on the Gulf Coast.
The weather this spring has been phenomenal all along the Gulf Coast, while elsewhere not so great. The latest long range forecasts for the Gulf of Mexico are sending a strong message that vacationers shouldn't expect as many nasty storms this year to potentially lay ruin to their plans. It's no wonder bookings are up.
Bottom line: if you're thinking about a Gulf shore vacation this summer then you had better be on the phone booking your condo and travel early.
Beaches expect a busy summer
GULF SHORES -- Until Hurricane Ivan struck in September, the summer of 2004 was the busiest ever on Baldwin's beaches.Occupancy rates for condominiums along the beach peaked at 90 percent that July; 92 percent of hotel rooms were rented that same month; and more than $329 million in retail sales were registered June through August in Foley, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, according to Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau data.
Now, heading into Memorial Day weekend and the start of the tourist season, rental companies are reporting reservation rates that exceed those they had prior to the start of that watershed summer two years ago.
"It's looking like it's going to be great," said Convention and Visitors Bureau President Herb Malone. "With what we've been through the last two years, we're ready for a great weekend and a great summer."
Hurricane Ivan put a quick end to the beach season in 2004 and caused enough damage to carry over into the summer of 2005. That season was further dampened, and reconstruction efforts slowed, by a succession of four evacuation-forcing named storms.
More than 13,000 condominium units and hotel rooms are ready for rent on the beach this season and, weather permitting, those in the tourism business are predicting that most will be filled throughout the summer.Marie Curren, director of marketing and reservations for Brett/Robinson, said each of her firm's 1,841 condos is spoken for this weekend and, as of late Wednesday, the real estate conglomerate's two Gulf-front hotels had about 20 unreserved rooms between them.
Most of the 200 or so condos that Bender Realty rents have been claimed through June, which is a good indicator of how the rest of the summer will go, owner Bill Bender said.
"I would say that by the end of June, we'll see 80 percent occupancies," Bender said. "In July, we should exceed 90 percent."