Presales for Plash Island High-Rise

Sunday, January 08, 2006
By KATHY JUMPER
Real Estate Editor

Plans for Plash Island's first high-rise condominium complex are under way and presales on Five Waters' 300 units will begin Thursday, developers said.

The Head Companies of Point Clear plans to construct two buildings -- from 11 to 20 stories, depending on the final design, said David Head Jr., whose company is one of the owners of the project.

The resort north of Baldwin County 6 will be built on 24 acres at the east side of the island. About 600 acres on or near Plash Island were annexed into Gulf Shores in October 2004.

Five Waters has 2,000 front feet on Bay John. The condo units are priced from $459,000 to $1 million, and REMAX of Orange Beach will market the units.

Plans call for a marina with 144 boat slips. Construction on the project should start in spring, Head said.

"We wanted to build something to offer people who could not afford beachfront," said Head. The developers didn't look at land along the Intracoastal Waterway, he said. Instead the group bought on Plash Island, which offers views of five waters: Mobile Bay, Bon Secour River, Oyster Bay, Weeks Bay and Bay John.

The largest condo complex on Plash Island is the 184-unit Sailboat Bay, which was built in the 1980s. The three-story buildings have parking underneath, and units come with a boat slip.

The units are priced in the high $200,000s, but just more than a year ago the units were selling for $89,000 to $115,000, according to Linda Brokaw of ERA Class.com in Foley.

"When things got so crazy on the beach and prices were going up almost weekly, a lot of folks started looking at the bay waters for value," Brokaw said.

"There was a rumor that somebody would buy it out," she said. "But you've got too many people who call it home." The median age for owners of Sailboat Bay units is 65 to 70, she said. "They like the low density, and they know their neighbors."

Realtors predict that Plash Island will eventually be developed into a high-end residential community.

Five Waters' amenities include a pool paradise with waterfalls, waterslides, a dive-in movie theater and adult pool; a putting green; game room; nature trails and a business center.

Plash Island is expected to be developed in much the same way as residential projects on the backwaters in Orange Beach, according to Robert Craft, a Gulf Shores City Councilman. "Orange Beach has proven that there is off-beach demand for condos when marinas are associated with it," he said.

Last April, the city adopted a land-use plan for Plash Island and the surrounding area. It allows developers with 10 or more acres to build up to 25 units per acre on up to 22 livable floors. The goal is to build higher structures, use less land, keep commercial buildings small and keep the number of boat slips to a minimum, city officials said.