Keen on fire station being built, officials propose dropping other public amenitiesFriday, March 28, 2008
By RYAN DEZEMBER
Staff Reporter
ORANGE BEACH -- City officials are negotiating with Turquoise Place developer Larry Wireman to restructure the package of park land and capital improvements that will be given to the public when his pair of condo towers is complete.
Wireman received approval to build four Gulf-front towers, but amid the condo market downturn has decided to only construct two. As such, the public benefits package he offered as part of his full plans will be reduced.
At the time Wireman's designs were approved, municipal law required developers to provide public benefits -- things like sidewalks, beach access, parks, street lights -- to justify projects that strayed from city zoning ordinances. The towers of Turquoise Place far exceeded what was then Orange Beach's building height limit.
For the first two towers Wireman agreed to give the city a 90-foot-wide public beach access with rest rooms, dune walkovers and parking spaces along with about 6 acres on Cotton Bayou on which he would build bathrooms and a fishing pier. He also pledged up to $300,000 toward a fire station on the Cotton Bayou property, which sits across Alabama 182 from his high-rises.
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