Scott & Tinsley Myrick, Gulf Coast Real Estate Professionals

Major development planned around Lulu's restaurant

Sunday, June 21, 2009 By KATHY JUMPER Real Estate Editor

Mac McAleer recalls bringing Lucy Buffett to the 27-acre site near the Dr. W.C. Holmes Bridge and hugging the Intracoastal Waterway and saying it would be the home for her new restaurant.

"She said, 'Are you kidding me?'" McAleer said last week, smiling.

Lulu's at Homeport Marina opened five years ago. Last year, 200,000 people came through, and the restaurant did $13 million in food and retail sales, McAleer said. Folks wait up to three hours for a table, listening to live music while sitting at one of three bars or watching their kids play in the mega sandbox.

Sometimes, a visitor even catches a glimpse of Lucy's famous singer- songwriter brother, Jimmy Buffett. (He pilots his own plane to the nearby Gulf Shores Airport.)

"It's been a great partnership with Lucy," McAleer said of the deal with his ex-wife, whom he calls a close friend.

Ambitious project

Now he plans to parlay Lulu's destination status by surrounding the eatery with a 250-room hotel, five-story parking deck, 1,000-seat conference center and a casual fine dining restaurant, retail and office space on Ala. 59 and East 29th Avenue. A new ferry terminal, with room for two high-speed vessels, might eventually take 250 passengers to Biloxi casinos and bring them back again.

He would also like to put a lighthouse, similar to the Middle Bay Lighthouse in Mobile Bay, near the existing marina, and have a bar and deck extend from the lighthouse to the casual fine dining restaurant, which will be located under the Holmes bridge.

"Will it happen?" he asked. "That's my intention. Three groups of investors are presently doing their due diligence."

Partners in the project include his marina management team - son Joe McAleer III and Ken Carter. They plan to either partner with other developers or sell them land.

McAleer, a former top executive at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, leases the land to Lulu's restaurant and built the adjacent multimillion-dollar, 76-slip concrete floating marina, which is almost leased up.

He presold and planned to build 96 condominium units before Hurricane Katrina, but returned the buyers' deposits after the storm.

The new project has been dubbed Homeport, which was the name of the Buffett's family home on Mobile Bay, said McAleer.

Preliminary plans for Homeport are in front of the Gulf Shores City Council, which must approve a right-of-way relocation on the land.

Transportation epicenter

McAleer views the Homeport location as being an epicenter of transportation, with the nearby airport, the main highway and the waterway.

Gulf Shores Councilwoman Carolyn Doughty said the city rezoned property along the waterway from industrial to resort use several years ago with the idea of developing a tourist center not as vulnerable to Gulf storms as properties on the coast.

"It would give us an alternative," she said. "It would be like a second coast."

Meeting space is in demand at the Gulf, which lost about 45 percent of such space after 2004's Hurricane Ivan, according to Herb Malone, president of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau. He was glad to hear about the Homeport plans, adding, "We will be even more excited when it goes vertical. Lulu's is a tremendous asset to the area."

Charlie Williamson of Gulf Coast Commercial Realty in Mobile is working with McAleer to put the hotel group together and bring in financing and investor groups. Once the hospitality group is in place, he will work to bring in other venues to enhance the property, he said.

"The big thing was we already had a venue in place that was successful, and we didn't have to start from a piece of dirt," he said. "Lenders are not going to lend one dime on a land deal. He's already got the land, which is an unbelievably huge hurdle.

'Excited about timing'

"We're excited about timing on this," he continued. "We think in eight or nine months we'll see the hospitality industry get aggressive again."

Developers want to have plans finished and permits ready when the market turns, he said. The site engineering and project management is being done by Engineering Development Services in Daphne.

More venues at the Gulf mean more activity for everybody, according to Shaul Zislin, owner of The Hangout on the beach at Alabama 59 and 182 in Gulf Shores, which opened a year ago.

"If they can bring in 50,000 more people a year for their conference center, those guests won't eat at Lulu's every night," he said. "Whatever extra they can generate, we say bring it on."

/cut/p36.3/cPhotos by BILL STARLING/ Staff PhotographerTop: Lulu's at Homeport Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway is seen from the top of the Dr. W.C. Holmes Bridge in Gulf Shores.

Above: Mac McAleer plans to develop the property surrounding Lulu's. He also owns and leases the land for the popular restaurant. His plans call for a 250-room hotel and conference center as well as other venues. He is shown at one of the outdoor bars at Lulu's, which is owned by Lucy Buffett.

/cut/3/cRendering by Nimrod Long & AssociatesThis rendering shows the planned development of the Homeport Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway to be built around Lucy Buffett's popular Lulu's restaurant.

New town born in Baldwin County

Sunday, June 14, 2009 By CRAIG MYERS Staff Reporter

Perdido Beach is officially a town, according to Baldwin County Probate Judge Adrian Johns, and voters there are expected to choose their first mayor and council this fall.

The 2cm HALF-square-mile incorporated area between Palmetto Creek and Soldier Creek includes a full-time population of 558, reported a committee appointed by Johns that completed the count this month.

On Wednesday, Johns issued the order declaring a town of Perdido Beach "with all rights and powers granted by the laws of Alabama to such corporation."

How those rights and powers - including taxation, police protection and building oversight - will be exercised must wait until the seating of the town's first elected leaders.

In Alabama, a town can enact up to 5 mills of property tax and a local sales tax of 1 to 3 cents per dollar in most cases, along with business licenses and other fees. A mill is $1 in taxes per $1,000 in assessed property value.

Johns said the election of five council members and a mayor will probably be scheduled for a Tuesday in October.

"We need to sit down and look at the calendar," Johns said. "We just need to line the dominoes up. It's just a matter of putting it all together to include all events such as absentee voting. We could possibly do it in September, but tentatively it will be October."

The waterfront community voted 192-113 in an April 21 referendum to become the county's 14th municipality.

The turnout represented about 63 percent of the approximately 485 people who registered to vote by an April 10 deadline.

Supporters said that a town government would protect the 108-year-old community from encroachment by development interests and annexation-minded neighbors.

The Perdido Beach Property Owners and Residents Association led the effort on hold a referendum on the issue.

Association President Bob Gross said last week that an early October election sounded good and that he has heard from several potential candidates.

Meanwhile, a committee of 11 community members is preparing a list of council actions needed to begin government operations.

Gross said that the committee is "gathering data to be sure that when the time comes to do something, there won't be any question marks."

He said that Magnolia Springs officials have been a "tremendous help" to that committee. Magnolia Springs incorporated in 2006 as the county's 13th municipality.

Perdido Beach has enjoyed a community identity since 1901, when Col. LB. Hatch began selling property there, according to the group's Web site.

Over the years, it has had its own school, hotel, fish market, post office, ice plant, bottling works, boat-building industry, churches, stores, rental cottages and turpentine and sugar cane mills, according to the association.

Incorporation advocates have expressed concern that the community identity could be threatened if Orange Beach ever builds a bridge from Ala. 161 to a road heading north along the route of Baldwin County 95, just west of Perdido Beach.

Orange Beach officials have been working on financing but economic woes have put the road-and-bridge project on the back burner.

Orange Beach, developer settle on Turquoise Place public benefits

Ryan Dezember, Press-RegisterOrange Beach officials and the developer of the Turquoise Place condominiums have agreed to a public benefits package that will net taxpayers nearly 6.5 acres on Cotton Bayou as well as a public beach access and $400,000.

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. -- With the second Turquoise Place condo tower nearing completion, its developer and city officials have reached an agreement on the package of property and cash that will be given to the public in exchange for the zoning that accommodated the 300-foot-plus structures.

Under the agreement, developer Larry Wireman will give the city nearly 6½ acres on Cotton Bayou's southern shore, a 90-foot-wide public beach access on the west side of the towers, and $400,000 for capital improvements.

The council won't likely vote to approve the deal for two weeks after tabling the matter at its Tuesday meeting. The developer and his lawyer asked that it be delayed while minor issues regarding legal descriptions of the property and easements are worked out, said Vince Lucido, an engineer who is working for Wireman.

Before 2006, when state legislators approved a system for collecting impact fees from developers in Baldwin County, Orange Beach officials extracted "public benefits" from developers in exchange for flexible zoning that would accommodate projects that otherwise wouldn't fit local land-use laws.

Originally Wireman had planned four towers and promised up to 16 acres on Cotton Bayou, the beach access and money to build park improvements like bike racks, barbecue grills and bathrooms as well as a small fire station across Ala. 182 from Turquoise Place. In a slumping market, however, Wireman scrapped his plans for the second pair of towers, prompting renegotiation of his public offerings.

The Palms in Orange Beach, Alabama

 

We have a National Seashore, a wildlife refuge, hiking trails, gorgeous beaches, golf courses, great tennis, boating, shopping, sailing, jet skiing, snorkeling/diving, biking, theme parks, shelling, surfing, wildlife viewing, spas, museums, restaurants, parasailing, swimming, windsurfing, fishing...... and the list goes on and on. Join us! The Alabama Gulf Coast attracts the investor who is looking for all of this and more... If you are interested in investing in a condo, I would be happy to speak with you. My experience, training, market knowledge, contacts and enthusiasm can help you accomplish your objectives finding just the right condominium, should you be considering the option. Tell me... 1.) What area would you like to receive listings in? Either Gulf Shores or Orange Beach or does it matter? 2.) How many bedrooms and baths would you like? 3.) What kind of special amenities would you like? On the beach? Gulf front? 4.) What is the MAXIMUM you would like to spend? 5.) How soon would you consider buying a condo?

Riley signs bill for beach hotel at Gulf State Park

Wednesday, May 13, 2009 By GEORGE R. ALTMAN Capital Bureau

Gov. Bob Riley on Tuesday approved a compromise bill to bring a new, beachfront hotel and convention center to Gulf State Park, after years of court battles over the project.

But legal problems for the planned hotel may not be over.

Senate Bill 254 requires that room rates at the hotel, planned for public land, be reasonable in comparison with similar hotels.

"Because a four-star hotel's rates would not be reasonable to the public, if Governor Riley violates this section of SB 254, I will carry him back to court so fast it will make his head swim," former Conservation Commissioner Charley Grimsley said in an e-mail.

Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Tourism Department, said the hotel's rates will only need to be comparable to the nearby Perdido Beach Resort, which has rates that meet luxury standards set by a national hotel statistics organization. Sentell said it costs more to build a hotel on the beach, so the rates must be higher.

"You cannot put millions of dollars in the ground and then expect to build a Motel 6 on top of the sand," he said.

The planned hotel has been a subject of controversy for years.

After 2004's Hurricane Ivan destroyed the state's previous hotel in the park, the Gulf State Park Lodge, Riley backed a plan to replace it by subleasing land to the Atlanta-based West Paces Hotel Group.

Grimsley and other opponents sued, four years of litigation followed and the state's highest court ruled against Riley in late March.

Soon after that ruling, both sides worked out a compromise in the Legislature, through a bill sponsored by Sen. Larry Dixon, R-Montgomery.

The bill required legislative approval for the long-term lease or sale of other state beaches but allowed a lease for the former site of Gulf State Park Lodge. The bill also mandated that the lease be between 30 and 70 years, construction be competitively bid, state employees run the convention center, local governments enter into negotiations for paying maintenance costs, and the hotel's rates be reasonable.

Riley signed the bill into law Tuesday in Gulf Shores, but disagreements persist.

A clause in the bill refers to a state law, which mandates that contracts "shall provide for the reasonableness of the concessionaire's rates and charges to the public, and such rates shall be judged primarily by comparison with those rates or charges for facilities and services of comparable character."

Dixon and Sentell pointed to the nearby Perdido Beach Resort as a comparable facility.

For a single guest staying one night, the lowest available rate at Perdido is $191.86, as a seven-day average. Booking information from the hotel's Web site shows that the lowest available nightly rate this week ranges from $269, for a Friday check-in, to $159, for Sunday and Monday check-ins.

The average cost for Perdido is almost 2.5 times the average daily rate for the region and falls within the "luxury" price classification, according to information from Smith Travel Research, a Tennessee-based group that compiles statistics on hotels nationwide.

"Governor Riley wanted a four-star luxury hotel whose rates would be unreasonable to the public. SB 254 stops that by requiring reasonable rates," Grimsley's e-mail said.

Riley's office did not return messages seeking comment. Sentell said room rates would have to be low enough to draw visitors but high enough to pay for construction costs.

Dixon said he believes Grimsley will lose if he takes the matter to court again. He added that the most important part of his bill is that it protects more than 4 miles of beaches beyond the old Gulf State Park Lodge site.

"Basically, nobody has to worry about some developer getting hold of that beachfront from now on," Dixon said.