Luxury Condo Planned for Orange Beach

Carlton Proctor
@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Innisfree Hotels announced plans Monday to begin construction of a luxury condominium in Orange Beach, Ala., that features the latest anti-mold technology and wind-tunnel testing to reduce storm damage.

The proposed 22-story Watermark Condominium will include four floors of covered parking, 69 Gulf-front units and a rooftop swimming pool, said Roger Wiegner, broker and president of Surf and Sand Realty, exclusive agents for the project.

Julian MacQueen, CEO of Innisfree Hotels in Gulf Breeze, said the project "is a testimony to our belief in Orange Beach and its resilience to return as a major destination on the Gulf Coast providing a world-class experience."

Watermark's construction is set to begin in the next few weeks, and should take between 18 and 20 months to complete. A grand opening is scheduled for fall 2007.

In addition to the Watermark project, Wiegner said Innisfree has two major projects under way.

Seawind, another Orange Beach condominium project, is nearing completion and is expected to receive its certificate of occupancy in July, he said.

Innisfree's Hilton Garden Inn property on Pensacola Beach also is undergoing expansion, Wiegner said.

The state-of-the-art building, on Innisfree's former Days Inn site in Orange Beach, will be constructed with "100 percent Make-Up Air," a forced-air system designed to prevent humid air from invading individual units when balcony or entrance doors and windows are opened.

In addition, a detailed, scale mock-up of the building is being wind-tunnel tested by a Canadian firm that specializes in identifying vulnerable parts of a building's design features, Wiegner said.

"The actual model of the building, along with models of other buildings in the area, will be wind-tunnel tested for 140 mile-per-hour winds to give us an idea of where the weak points are," Wiegner said.

The two- and three-bedroom units will be available in the $600,000 to $1 million range, he said.