Coastal condos

Gulf Coast construction weathers the storms

By June Mathews

Nowhere else on Earth does the sun shine brighter than on the Alabama/Mississippi Gulf Coast. But sometimes when it rains there, it pours, and the hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 are proof of that.

With Ivan’s wrathful visit to the Alabama coast in September 2004 and the historic destruction wrought by Katrina to points immediately west one year later, the area took a beating. And that beating may have temporarily slowed the area’s condominium market.

Still, numerous projects are under construction or about to begin across the Gulf Coast, especially in the Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, Ala., area.

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Greg Miller of KCC Contractors Inc. of Springfield, Mo., said his company currently has three projects slated for Orange Beach, and one in neighboring Gulf Shores.

Miller said a current slowdown can be attributed in large part to the hesitancy of consumers to invest in an area lately battered by mega-storms.

But such concerns, in his opinion, are probably based more on perception than reality.

“When Gulf Shores and Orange Beach were hit, damage to the high-rise condos was limited,” he said. “The first three or four floors of most of them are covered parking, so it’s the fourth, fifth or sixth floor before you get to the condos, and storm surge usually doesn’t get that high.”

Miller said another factor that mitigated high-rise storm damage is the missile-impact glass now used in beach construction.

“It allows buildings to withstand hurricanes a lot better than the two- and three-story buildings built in the 50s and 60s,” he said.

Mark Berson of the Alabama Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce said condo construction will soon shift into high gear.

Berson said in the last year the biggest impact on condo sales hasn’t necessarily been the cost of the unit themselves or even the fear of being blown away by killer storms, but the post-hurricane cost of insuring those units.

“The insurance premiums may make some people hesitate, especially people who have had places down here before and are used to lower rates,” he said. “It’s different when people are first coming in. They think that’s just the way it’s always been.”

Despite this, many projects continue unabated, making the Mississippi/Alabama Gulf Coast one of the most active areas in the country.

Some of the ongoing and future condominium projects on the Alabama/Mississippi coast include:

The Ocean Club, Biloxi, Miss. According to Brett Haddox, project organizer for Roy Anderson Corp. of Gulfport, construction on Baymont Tower, the first phase of The Ocean Club development, is well underway.

Begun in December 2005, the building was topped out in November 2006. The scheduled completion date is the end of February.

“We’re looking at starting Phase Two in the first quarter of 2007 and it will be a mirror image of Phase One,” Haddox said.

The 17-story Baymont Tower houses 120 units in five floor plans. The building is comprised of 203,840 sq. ft. of heated space with a total of 268,358 sq. ft.

The bottom two levels of the building are parking areas; the top 15 floors are residential. On the terrace level are a pool and a poolhouse.

The conventional stucco tower is built of post-tensioned concrete with reinforced steel columns and some CMU.

The structure is designed to withstand hurricane-force winds up to 200 mph. (Katrina’s highest winds were reported at 175 mph.)

The $75 million Ocean Club is being built on the site of the old Biloxi Hilton. Plans call for a river, pools, plazas and landscaped areas surrounding three towers.

Turquoise Place I and II, Orange Beach, Ala. Thanks to its shimmering glass curtainwall extension of turquoise glass, the $110 million Turquoise Place is one of the most readily identifiable new properties on the Alabama Gulf Coast.

A 400-unit luxury beachfront resort, Turquoise Place consists of two towers, one 304 ft. tall and the other 377 ft. tall. Construction on Tower I began in Fall 2005 and construction began on Tower II in Fall 2006.

The project is scheduled for completion in Spring 2008.

The 33,000- to 35,000-sq.-ft. floor slabs in the towers will require about 110,000 cu. yds. of concrete. Each building has a post-tensioned deck and concrete and rebar columns and sheer walls.

Both towers are fronted with four-story parking garages. A 90-ft. walkway will provide access to the beach.

Units will feature hot tubs, outdoor balcony kitchens, plasma screen TV’s mounted above gas fireplaces and other upscale amenities.

Turquoise Place was designed by Forrest Daniel & Associates of Mobile and is being built by Yates Construction of Biloxi, Miss.

Phoenix West and Phoenix West II, Orange Beach, Ala. For many years, the Phoenix name has graced condominium developments on the Alabama Gulf Coast and it will soon grace two more that are now under construction.

Gene Brett, a partner in Brett-Robinson Construction, said ground was broken on both Phoenix West and Phoenix West II in 2005 about six months apart. The $430 million development is a year-and-a-half to two years from completion, he said.

When topped out, Phoenix West will be 27 stories tall with approximately 1.3 million sq. ft.; Phoenix West II will be 33 stories tall with approximately 2.1 million sq. ft.

The architecture is Classic Mediterranean with pillars, arches and sweeping terraces.

The three- and four-bedroom condos inside will offer close to 2,000 sq. ft. of living space and will feature luxury amenities such as private balconies and coffered ceilings.

Brett said with steel-reinforced concrete that is poured in placed, including the walls between units, the newest Phoenix condos are built to withstand the elements.

Seawind, Gulf Shores, Ala. The recently completed Seawind development consists of a 20-story residential tower with a six-story amenity building.

The amenity building houses a check-in area, public restrooms, an indoor/outdoor pool with a swim-through and conference rooms on the first floor; a gym facility on the second floor; and single-unit luxury condos on the remaining floors. The tower contains 155 units.

Jerry Wilcox, superintendent with McCrory Building Co. Inc. of Birmingham, the approximately 300,000-sq.-ft. project is built to code with a ground level and two levels of parking below the living units.

Wilcox said the concrete structures are finished with stucco and are built to withstand even the worst storms.

“The last building I did before Ivan was built the same way, and that building and this one have been through Katrina, so they’ve already been tested,” Wilcox said.

Inside, the units are upgraded with granite countertops, ceramic tile flooring, crown molding and large trim. A positive airflow system throughout helps control moisture. Construction costs on Seawind totaled around $28 million.

Additional projects now underway on the Alabama/Mississippi Gulf Coast include:

• Escape to the Shore, Gulf Shores, a $40 million condominium and commercial development. Contractor on the project is Hoar Construction of Birmingham.
• Vista Bella Condos, Orange Beach, a $22.5 million condominium development being built on Ole River by The Lemoine Co. of Alabama LLC. The luxury units are scheduled for completion this spring.
• Bel Sole Condos, Gulf Shores, a $19.6 million condo scheduled for completion early this year. Also being built by The Lemoine Co. of Alabama.
• Beau View Condos & Swimming Pool, Biloxi, Miss., a four-tower condominium resort being developed by Davis Companies of Newberry, Fla. Contractor on the project is Coastal Builders of Mobile.

Pending projects. Several planned Gulf Coast projects have temporarily been put on hold but are still slated for construction.

Starting dates, however, have not been determined.

Greg Miller with KCC Contractors, said his company has four pending Gulf Coast projects: Santorini ($40 million), Sapphire Beach High Rise ($80 million) and Bella Vita ($45 million), all luxury high-rise condo developments in Orange Beach, Ala., and Bacara ($40 million) in neighboring Gulf Shores.

Miller said at this point scheduling starting dates “depends on what the consumer is going to look at and whether they want to make the investment.”

Pre-construction sales are also currently underway on River Front Condominium on the Bon Secour River in Gulf Shores.

A project of Joe Raley Builders, also of Gulf Shores, the $37.5 million River Front will have 206 units, a fitness center, an outdoor pool and boat slips.

“The condominium is moving forward as planned,” said the company’s marketing coordinator, Rebecca Wilson.