Abandoned Bama Bayou property rebrands as The Wharf Landing

By MELANIE LECROY
Lifestyle Editor
melanie@gulfcoastmedia.com
Posted 5/5/23

In August 2022, The Wharf announced the purchase of the property across the Intracoastal Waterway, formerly known as Bama Bayou.

The Wharf owner, Art Favre, acquired just under 90 acres in the …

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Abandoned Bama Bayou property rebrands as The Wharf Landing

The Wharf plans to expand across the Intracoastal Waterway with the purchase of 100 acres of the former site of the Bama Bayou development.
The Wharf plans to expand across the Intracoastal Waterway with the purchase of 100 acres of the former site of the Bama Bayou development.
MICAH GREEN / GULF COAST MEDIA
Posted

In August 2022, The Wharf announced the purchase of the property across the Intracoastal Waterway, formerly known as Bama Bayou.

The Wharf owner, Art Favre, acquired just under 90 acres in the initial purchase. He has since acquired just over 10 acres that include the original Bama Bayou structures.

According to Jason Clabo, the property will be re-branded as The Wharf Landing.

"Meetings are being held with several different developers on ideas that could come to life for the property," Clabo said. "This will be a resort destination that compliments the offerings at The Wharf."

No specifics have been released about what will be developed on the 100 acres.

Bama Bayou History

Construction on the commercial development known as Bama Bayou (previously called RiverWalk Orange Beach) began in 2005. The plan for the 147-acre development included retail, hotels, entertainment venues, a marine park and condominiums.

The project ran in to funding issues early on and was foreclosed on in April 2009 after it defaulted on $21 million in loans. It was embroiled in a tangle of lawsuits and failed attempts to restart the project over the years.

The city of Orange Beach has tried throughout the years to work with property owners to clean up the site or demolish the buildings. In 2011 city code inspectors had problems with trash and debris around the site and were close to declaring it a public nuisance. Dabis was removed or moved out of sight and a fence was erected according to city directives. In 2016, the city began talking with the owners about demolition, but the talks were unsuccessful.

In 2018, the Orange Beach city council voted unanimously to approve a development agreement with a private developer Presidium for the redevelopment of the abandoned and partially completed Bama Bayou.

The Austin, Texas-based private developer performed due diligence on the project for 12 months before entering into a Memorandum of understanding with Orange Beach, May 30, 2018.

The developer informed the city they planned to acquire the entire 147–acre site and planned to build a large-scale, mixed-use development over phases, including multiple hotels, convention center, water park, aquarium, interactive marine mammal experience, wetland trails and educational assets.

David Wallace, a representative of Presidium, told the city they hoped to have Phase 1 opened and ready by spring break of 2020, but the project was abandoned, again.