Tagged : al

Found 23 blog entries tagged as "al".

In 2009, Austal USA, located on Mobile's waterfront, set a goal to create 4,000 jobs for its U.S. base of operations.  The goal is on pace for realization by the end of 2013 according to representatives from the Australian ship builder.  When met, this will make Austal the largest private sector employer in Mobile County. "Our game plan is to level our to support both of our programs going forward," said president Craig Perciavalle, discussing the two different classes of ships currently being assembled at the sprawling facility on the waters of Mobile Bay. The employment figures are approximately five times higher than the 800 of the initial year in 2009.  Austal made a commitment to double its workforce in a two year window to facilitate the…
2,332 Views, 0 Comments

The Highlands of Spanish Fort is a large development project spanning over 11,000 acres between Spanish Fort and Bay Minette, AL.  The land is separated in to 54 tracts and being development in conjunction with the city of Spanish Fort.  The tracts are comprised of residential, commercial, multi family, a village center, school sites, institutional sites, parks and municipal services.  The city council members approved an amended conceptual master plan and standards for design back in August at the most recent public hearing.

"We've definitely seen an increase in queries from regional to national developers and local home builders within the last six months," said Bill Schroeder, developing partner of Rock Creek Capital, which owns the land.  The Rock

3,467 Views, 0 Comments

After three straight years of increases in the numbers of visitors and the economical benefits associated, Baldwin County is obviously gaining in popularity.  More people are visiting and spending more while they're here.

Over five million people visited the Alabama Gulf Coast in 2012 and spent $2.9 billion while visiting Baldwin County.  That's an increase of over 4 million visitors and over $100 million since 2011;  this year (2013) is slated to break these number and establish new record marks.

It's estimated the coastal cities of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, AL will generate an estimated $343 million in rentals this year, an increase  from $323 million in 2012 and $280 million in 2011.  These numbers were based from the Gulf Shores and Orange

1,910 Views, 0 Comments

Local tourism officials expect the flights to boost the economy and none as much as the Alabama / Florida beaches along the Alabama Gulf Coast.  The trip to the beautiful white-sandy beaches of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Perdido Key, FL will be be much more accessible and from a variety of new locations with fewer lay overs for those flying in to the area.  The city of Pensacola is only 45 minutes East of Gulf Shores, closer still to Orange Beach and a mere 20 minutes to Perdido Key, Florida.  Mobile, AL is approximately an hour from Pensacola International Airport.  City officials from the beaches of Alabama are excited about the new option for people to reach their vacation destination.   Southwest is now offering twice-daily nonstop service…
1,911 Views, 0 Comments

Spanish Fort, AL Siren System

Spanish Fort, AL will be the first city in Baldwin County to install a siren system to act as an early warning alert system with the tornado portion beginning very soon.  "We'll probably go to bid on the tornado sirens in the next two months," said the mayor.  It is amazing to me that we'll be the first city in Baldwin County to have it."  The mayor explained the positioning of the sirens as being distributed from Mobile, East in to Spanish Fort in five locations.

"They go from one end of the city to the other," McMilan said.  "We're working with our grant-writing team and with Bruce Renkert to decide on a plan."  Renkert works as the building and zoning official in Spanish Fort.  Another important detail was the mayor

3,955 Views, 0 Comments

According to Dr. Don Epley, director of the center for real estate and economic development (CRES) at the University of South Alabama in Mobile, AL, business and real estate activity along the Alabama Gulf Coast should outpace that of the U.S. average.  While speaking at the recent seminar, Epley cited reports from the Federal Reserve bank in Philadelphia which studies economic indicators for the region including parts of South Alabama including:  Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, Spanish Fort, Daphne, Fairhope and Mobile, AL.  According to these reports, Epley and others believe Alabama will grow at a rate of 4.6 percent placing them in the top 5 U.S. states in terms of growth.  By contrast, the U.S. economy as a whole is expected to grow at a rate between 2

1,790 Views, 0 Comments

     Another Festival is in the books.  Another successful turn out and condos were hard to come by this year as potential patrons were again waiting until the last minute to make reservations.  We received numerous calls in the days leading up to the event.  The Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival has added things over the past few years and has a multitude of things to do, see and even participate in while attending.

     The weather could not have been better.  The temperatures ranged from the mid 60's early in the day and peaked in the low 80's with low humidity.  Patrons joined in from all over the U.S. and made this year's festival crowd one of the largest on record with over 300,000 visitors.

     This year's festival was like its predecessors in many

2,175 Views, 0 Comments

Real Estate sales have been on a significant upswing in 2013.  Our local beach communities including Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, AL and Perdido Key, FL have had a 3.1% increase in sales and neighboring Mobile, AL has seen a 4.7% increase.  Nationally, prices has risen 12.6% when compared to May of last year.  New construction is up 7.4% according to Mike Cranston of Re/Max in Orange Beach, AL.  A contributing factor, according to Mike, is the considerable jump in prices of finished lots which is up 30 to 50 percent.  People who owned larger homes are downsizing to smaller homes.  The availability of foreclosed properties is down and now is a great time to buy considering the aforementioned areas (primarily a resort area) have not experienced large price

1,542 Views, 0 Comments

Phoenix West II condominium has been under construction for some time now.  The inauspicious start is a subsequent result from Katrina.  The newest development from Brett Robinson was simply ill-timed.  The first Phoenix West building which was finished prior to the storm is one of the nicer developments on the Gulf of Mexico in Alabama, perhaps on surpassed by the Turquoise Place towers.  Phoenix West II is the companies second project with elaborate amenities such as its lazy river.  One thing is for sure - when the building is finally completed and the certificate of occupancy is issued, it will be one of the great residences in an area already full of of beautiful condominiums.

In 2011, BP agreed to pay the development company 37.2 million dollars

8,944 Views, 0 Comments

On Saturday, August 10th, the Wharf hosted the second annual "Top of the Hops" beer festival in Orange Beach, AL.  Crowds lined the streets waiting for the festivities which began at 4:00 p.m. officially, but we suspect some of the patrons had a head start.  Once inside guests of the event were treated to 175 different beers from 52 breweries.  The event took place under 4 large tents on the marina lawn.
Fairhope Brewing Company, Blue Pants brewery and Back Forty brewing Company were the in-state breweries featured in the Cask Garden serving unfiltered brews.  The Cask Garden was billed as the place where brewers could experiment with unfiltered, small batches and Dan Murphy from Fairhope Brewing Company served a cucumber juice beer that was probably the

2,156 Views, 0 Comments