Charley hit Captiva and Sanibel Islands in August 2004 and changed the face of both islands. Taking the "glass is half full" view, Charley improved the view and turned the islands' atmosphere dial away from "jungle island hideaway" and a few clicks toward the "Mediterranean escape" setting. Much of the mangroves and tree canopy is gone, along with many of the old wooden beach cottages. In their place Mediterranean-style cottages are being built with all the latest amenities and construction technologies to better withstand the elements.
And along with all these changes comes the rebirth of the South Seas Resort. Charley wasn't kind to the South Seas. In all the 330-acre resorts owners have spent about $140 million to renovate the landscaping, the marina, the beaches, the golf course and the resort's privately and resort-owned homes, villas, condos and time-shares.
What a change this must be. When we last visited some years ago the South Seas was already showing signs of needing renovation. The brand of primitive luxury found there was unique and thoroughly enjoyable for first-time visitors. But the experience quickly paled in comparison to the bright, clean luxury offered by more recently built Gulf Coast rentals.
The South Seas is open again to the vacationing public. We can't wait to see what they've done with the place.
The Broadwater Casino cleared another hurdle today in its quest to build a business in Biloxi. The Biloxi City Council has approved a plan to rebuild the resort with a zoning change to allow the casino to be built on land, north of the highway.
The plan to rebuild the Broadwater received unanimous support from the city council, which also granted variances that had been requested for height and parking. The owners of the 260 acre resort had requested to build to a height of 400 feet and to provide approximately 1.8 parking spaces per lodging unit.
The Broadwater Resort and Casino, when complete will have up to 10,000 hotel rooms and condos. Its and its proposed casinos, golf course, shopping, restaurants and marina could put as much as $6.5 million in tax revenue per month into Biloxi's coffers.
New Casino Proposal for Biloxi
Broadwater Project Clears First Hurdle
If you were making plans to take out a second mortgage or to refinance your home in order to raise cash to buy into this condo development, put them on hold or look for another prospect. Shoeless Joe LLC tried to push the envelope a little bit too far with the Gulfport planning and zoning commission. Their proposed 227 unit condo complex to have been known as... Well, it doesn't really matter what it was going to be called. It was rejected. The parcel of land they wanted to build on was zoned medium residential.
Proposing a high-rise condo complex there just wasn't going to fly.
Henderson Point condos nixed
Construction has begun on a new vacation condo development in Perdido Key. La Serena will be a 51 unit complex on Perdido Key. There are only ten units remaining to be sold. Prices start at about $900,0000. The gated, six-story vacation condo development is scheduled to open during the summer of 2007. La Serena includes a resort pool with cabanas, tennis courts and a private marina with a 300-foot pier.
Web site is still under construction
Innisfree Hotels has announced intentions for a new Orange Beach vacation condo development to be known as the Watermark.
The proposal calls for 69 beach front condo units in a 22-story tower. The first four floors will be the parking garage. The swimming pool will be placed for maximum sun - on the roof.
The entire structure will be tested to optimize the tower against wind damage. A scaled down replica of the building and its surroundings will be tested in a wind tunnel to identify potential weak points in the design which can then be corrected before construction begins.
Construction is planned to start in just a few weeks and is expected to take from 18 months to two years to complete. The two and three bedroom Watermark condo units will be priced from $600,000 to $1 million or more.
In addition to the Watermark Condo project, Innisfree is also the developer behind the Seawind Orange Beach condo project and the expansion of the Hilton Garden Inn property on Pensacola Beach. The Seawind condos are nearing completion and will likely be ready to open this summer.
It's amazing the facts you can pick up when you're reading about spring break and which beaches are open... Alabama expects the number of vacation condos and hotels within five miles of the beach to double in the next five years.
All but 3 Baldwin County beaches open
All but three of south Baldwin County's 15 primary public beach access points are open for this week's spring-break crowds.
The closed areas are undergoing renovations that were planned well before Hurricane Ivan struck here in September 2004. Those areas will likely be ready for use before the peak summer season.