Phoenix West II Condominium Info - CONDOINVESTMENT.COM

Posted by Rachel Kelly on Thursday, December 12th, 2013 at 3:15pm.

Phoenix West II is 32 stories and almost 2 million square feet.  This makes the condominium the largest residential building in Alabama.  The project cost an estimated $245 million and sits directly on the Gulf of Mexico in West Orange Beach, AL.

Some owner's are currently furnishing their respective units even though some of the building's amenities are incomplete.  The indoor pool, outdoor lazy river and lobby furnishing are a few of the unfinished items on the punch list.

Complications began to bombard the condo in 2005 after its construction was approved by the Orange Beach city council.  First, the construction company's piling supplier in Pass Christian, MS was destroyed by hurricane Katrina.  This effectively pushed the opening date from mid 2009 to early 2011.  Next, the BP oil spill began April 2010 which brought sales to a standstill.

Individual unit prices fell with the crash of the real estate market.  The construction company uses cash sales as the primary means to finance their projects and the prices were initially set between $700,000 and $800,000;  sales were averaging just over a half million dollars in early 2012.  In today's market, the remaining 3BR condos are priced just under $600,000 and private resale's are around $800,000 for some of the 4BR condos.

In 2010, the development company received over $37 million from BP in exchange for a release of liability.  According to various sources, over 50% of the buyers in Phoenix West II own at least one other Phoenix condominium.

Another problem occurred in 2012 when the developers stood in front of the city council tabling a request to modify the original plans.  They explained their lack of the necessary financial resources needed to construct the pedestrian overpass and a $2 million donation to the Cross Island Connector Fund that was agreed upon when the project was approved.  The overpass would have crossed Perdido Beach Boulevard connecting Phoenix West II and the Village of Tannin's commercial areas;  they've not yet been built out.

In the request to amend original plans for Phoenix West II condominium, the developers suggested they would pay an impact fee of $1.53 million for the condos 358 units.  The Orange Beach city council called for the developers to pay for a signalized crosswalk, pay the city $1.5 million in impact fees upon receipt of the certificate of occupancy instead of paying the fees in 60 monthly installments; build and maintain restrooms on the public restrooms on the beach; provide beach access on the West side of the condo; build access for emergency vehicles on the other side of Phoenix West II (East) and  finally, donate $500,000 to connect the crosswalk area to the backcountry trail that runs parallel to the Gulf of Mexico.  The trail is approximately 1,500 feet from the condo tower.

Phoenix West II is the second tower in the West series of the Phoenix family.  The first tower (Phoenix West) is about a half mile to the East and is slightly smaller at 29-stories and approximately 6 years younger.  Apparently, Phoenix West is currently being used in the 50/50 range meaning that 50% of the owners use the condo as a rental / investment property and the other 50% are using the condo as second homes or even permanent residences.

The Phoenix condos are, by far, the largest chain of condos in the area.  The buildings range from Phoenix All Suites located in the West Beach area of Gulf Shores, AL all the way to the world famous FloraBama on the Florida state line.  The All Suites are actually condotels which offer limited ownership;  there are two of these condotels and both are situated on the beaches of Gulf Shores.  Phoenix on the bay I & II are two buildings in the Terry Cove area of Orange Beach which offers something for the boating community.  These two towers are neighbors and a short run to Perdido Pass and the Gulf of Mexico.  In closing, Phoenix has a little something for everyone.  Click here for our Phoenix sales page which gives details on each building's location, amenities, current listings and a variety of other helpful sales information.

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