(OBA®) – The City of Orange Beach is finally getting some beachfront property thanks to a planned public-private partnership with the owners of the Flora-Bama.

At the Dec. 1 regular meeting, the council voted unanimously to OK an amendment to the zoning ordinance to allow for a restaurant and parking development near the main intersection in town at the State Route 161 and State Route 182. If they deal for the property sale goes through the city will purchase 400 feet of the 800 feet of beachfront on the parcel.

Mayor Tony Kennon said it has been the desire of city leaders for many years to have ownership of some beachfront in Orange Beach but the obstacles and costs of acquiring it were to great to overcome. Until now.

“It never made sense dollar for dollar and the return on what we could purchase,” Kennon said. “The issue being high-density condo pricing, obviously, which was at the top of the market. That was your larger tracts that would be beneficial to us as a city to purchase.”

Comparatively, the Gulf State Park Cotton Bayou Beach Access has about 500 feet of Gulf front and 160 parking spaces. The new project will have more than 800 feet of waterfront and nearly 450 parking spaces for use by the restaurant and for the public to use for beach access. It will include a public restroom building at the southwest corner of the property.

The three-story restaurant will have about 31,000 square feet of restaurant space and a 5,000-foot retail area. Flora-Bama co-owner John McInnis said during the meeting it would be very similar to the Shunk Gulley Oyster Bar in Florida’s 30-A beach area in Santa Rosa.

City Administrator Ken Grimes said after the meeting that the city’s portion would be about $12.5 million and the city would hold title to a parcel with 400 feet of beachfront. During the meeting, Kennon said the city would recoup that over time through sales taxes generated by the restaurant. McInnis said he and his partner, Cameron Price, also a co-owner, are expecting to spend about $30 million. McInnis said he hopes construction can begin this spring with a completion target date of spring of 2022.

It was one of two new restaurants on the drawing board in Orange Beach and discussed during the two meetings. The other an iconic name in fast food, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, on State Route 161.

Plans were presented for the beach project to the Orange Beach Planning Commission on Nov. 30 by WAS Design Landscape Architects for clients for the Gulf front restaurant and parking lot near the intersection of beach road and State Route 161. Later plans and renderings show the construction of a public parking deck with a few condos atop it but whether or not it will be built will be decided after the restaurant and parking lot are completed if it is ever built at all.  The OBA Community Website first reported on the sale of the property to a company owned by McInnis and Price on Oct. 26. (Article)

The project by the Flora-Bama owners came before the Orange Beach City Council during a 1 p.m. Dec. 1 regular meeting and work session. It was on the regular meeting agenda for a public hearing and first reading of a change to the zoning ordinance to allow for changes in a planned unit development on the parcel. Ordinance changes normally require two public hearings and readings before the council can vote but the council suspended the rules to enable immediate consideration for the change. It followed up with the unanimous vote which is required on the vote to suspend the rules and the vote on the ordinance for it to be immediately enacted.

“It’s approximately 830 feet on the beach,” McInnis said in October. “Our goal is to possibly build a restaurant, greenspace, and a condo. We have had a very preliminary discussion with the city about incorporating some type of city resident parking/beach access and significantly decreasing or eliminating condos entirely if we can find a way to make it work. The property is currently entitled for hundreds of condos or hotel rooms but our goal is to significantly reduce what is built on that property. It is the viewing corridor for the public when they hit the beach road from 161, so we would love to see that property remain mostly open and available for the public’s use.”

The property was previously given city approval to build two massive towers on the parcel, Grace and Ascension. Another tower called Transcendence was also approved on the lot east of the parcel McInnis is considering both owned by the Gulf Coast Opportunity Fund. Grace and Ascension would have both topped 35 stories and added 276 vacation rental units and Transcendence would have added 166. (See photo slideshow at the bottom of this article.)