Plans for Riverwalk Expand

Thursday, November 24, 2005
By RYAN DEZEMBER Staff Reporter

ORANGE BEACH -- Along the Intracoastal Waterway between a narrow industrial sector to the west and a vast blanket of pine-covered, undeveloped land to the east sits a swath of cleared property where the newest sprigs of south Baldwin's growing tourist trade are sprouting.

At the moment, the land that straddles both landings of the Foley Beach Express toll bridge isn't much to look at. Hundreds of acres have been cleared, scraped down to pale dirt and cross-hatched by the thick tire tracks of construction equipment.

A grandstand is being shaped on the northern side while on the south, concrete blocks are being stacked to form a movie theater, parking decks and condo towers. At both there are heaps of dirt, scattered construction trailers and newly carved marina basins on the shipping channel's shores.

On the south side of the canal is The Wharf, a 220-acre development that will, according to plans, one day include about 1,000 condo units, more than a million square feet of retail, a movie theater, a towering Ferris wheel and a boardwalk a half-mile long.

On the north shore, a half-oval dug from the canal's banks represents the marina of Riverwalk Orange Beach, a similarly sprawling and varied development.

Being built upon what was once city property, plans for Riverwalk Orange Beach have morphed and expanded greatly since the project was first proposed.

"In 2½ years we've almost tripled in size," said Jimmy Boyd, general manager for The Wharf. "At one time we had a theater and a bowling alley. Now we've got a Gulf World Marine Park."

Featuring exhibits of sharks, penguins and alligators as well as dolphin and sea lion shows, Gulf World will anchor the development, which was valued at about $85 million in early designs but has evolved to a more than $300 million project, according to spokeswoman Rebecca Wilson.

Also added: a water park the developers say will be among the biggest and best in the nation and a 68,000-square-foot convention center that they are hoping will draw visitors year-round.

Boyd said that drastic increase in scope explains why the first portions of Riverwalk, including the marine park, will likely open in spring 2007, a year later than originally planned. Aside from the water park, to which no opening date has been assigned, Boyd said he expects the rest of Riverwalk to open in 2008.

Boyd said the developers, which include Joe Raley Builders of Orange Beach and Mobile real estate conglomerate The Mitchell Co. Inc., have regularly made changes to the plans to make it "the best possible destination attraction facility.

"Because of the changes," he said, "it's taken us longer."

Originally the project's completion was bound by a timeline set by the City Council. Those requirements vanished, however, when Riverwalk developers agreed to buy the 144-acre site from the city.

That land was originally purchased by Orange Beach in 1999 for $5 million and intended to spur economic development around the Foley Beach Express toll bridge, which was then under construction.

In a 2002 agreement with Joe Raley Builders the city agreed to sell them 42 acres on the western side of the expressway for about $1.7 million, and lease them 97 acres on the eastern side of the road for $1 per year for 50 years, provided the builders follow through with plans to construct a tax-revenue-generating tourist attraction.

The company paid the city $78,000 for the rights to develop the land but later decided to buy all of the property.

In three separate deals Orange Beach sold off portions to Raley for a total of more than $12 million. City Administrator Jeff Moon said last week that all but the $1.03 million sale of about 7 acres west of the expressway has closed. That sale should be finalized in coming weeks, though, Moon said.

That parcel along with the 42-acre piece will contain the water park, developers said. Plans for that, including its projected opening date, are not yet settled, Wilson said during a recent tour of the property.

"We really haven't rolled out anything on the water park," she said, adding that announcements would likely come early next year.

Wilson, however, provided a list of the features expected in the park, which is being designed by the firm that planned Typhoon Lagoon and Disney's Blizzard Beach in Orlando, Fla. The primary feature of the park will be a "lazy river," made for innertube rides, which will pass through a shark tank via an acrylic tunnel. Water slides, a wave pool, aviary, a coral reef for snorkeling, aquarium-themed restaurants and 450 condo units are also on the drawing board.

All condo units throughout Riverwalk will be individually owned but run by the management company as though they are hotel rooms, which they will resemble, Boyd said.
Back east, across the Foley Beach Express, is the meat of Riverwalk.

An office tower will punctuate the northern tip of the property, buffered on the north and east with 35 acres of trail-traversed wetlands. South of the tower, along the expressway, will be a vast parking lot.

"Our ultimate goal is for someone to get here, park their car and not get back in until it's time to go home," Boyd said.

A resort management firm chosen to run Riverwalk has plans to shuttle visitors to the beach and back, Boyd said. Riverwalk is also among the Intracoastal Waterway developments planning to create a water taxi service to link various canal resorts.

East of the parking area, hugging a small creek, will be a 12-building shopping village with more than 150,000 square feet of retail space.

Though Boyd and Wilson revealed no tenants, they said that established south Alabama businesses were offered the space first.

"We want that local flair that tourists have come to love," Boyd said. "We'll have some national (retailers) but we don't want that to be the focus."

South of there is Gulf World, Riverwalk's headliner. The list of attractions planned for the park is long, but the swim-with-the-dolphins program, in which guests can pay to get in a pool with the mammals, is the primary attraction.

Sea lions, penguins, harbor seals, otters, flamingos, alligators and sea turtles all have exhibition space drawn into the plans. A 1,000-seat stadium, which is under way along the expressway, will host dolphin and sea lion shows and other exhibits.

Two bridges -- one for walking and another for vehicles -- link Gulf World's space to the resort-fronted marina. A transient marina is meant to be a parking lot for boaters, though a few slips will be reserved for charter fishing and sightseeing vessels, Boyd said.

Restaurants and night spots will surround four condo towers, according to the plans. The convention center -- which has already garnered interest from groups wanting to meet there -- will sit behind them.

"We've had people for the past few months trying to book for 2007 and 2008," Boyd said. The convention center is not likely to open until 2008.