For many months, the shell of a building that is to eventually become Phoenix West II has been sitting on the white sands of Orange Beach. The 31-story high-rise that will hold hundreds of luxury condominiums has seen very little action in the form of construction in recent months.

On Tuesday it was announced that an agreement had been made with BP PLC to pay developer Brett/Robinson $37.2 million, an amount that should be enough to help boost the project’s completion.

Originally, Brett/Robinson had requested a $115 million loan from BP in order to complete the structure whose estimated cost is $160 million.

According to the law firm of Hare Wynn Newell and Newton who represents Brett/Robinson owners Tommy Robinson, Gene Brett and Tillis Brett, the agreement, says that Brett/Robinson and the current condo buyers will not sue BP or any other entity involved in the Gulf oil spill. Each present condo buyer must sign the release in order for the agreement to stand.

Phoenix West II, Brett/Robinson’s 19th condominium tower, was originally scheduled to open in July 2009, but that opening was rescheduled for 2011. Due to a declining economy, punctuated by the Gulf oil spill, sales for additional units which would have driven the completion of the project, came to a screeching halt.

Involved in the discussions since May to reach the agreement were U.S. Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Mobile; U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile; and Orange Beach Mayor Tony Kennon.

Kennon said it was imperative to the local economy that an agreement be reached so that construction could continue on the condo tower.

“We knew by Memorial Day just how devastating the perception of our oil spill was going to be to our economy, and when we started seeing that condominium sales has essentially shut down 100 percent, we all jumped in,” Kennon said.

Kennon was quick to say that the deal had nothing to do with Brett/Robinson, a mainstay developer along the Gulf Coast for many years, but the issue was about the prospective of having a two-million-square-foot building standing vacant on the beach for years to come.

“We could not have that. This was for everybody’s sake — property values, investors looking for investment opportunities, all of that matters,” said Kennon. “When you drive down the beach and see this huge building unfinished, it puts question marks in everybody’s mind.”

Kennon said across the board, everyone involved in dealing with the agreement felt that it was important to the real estate community and the development community to make sure that the project was not left to go dark.

Originally, some of the 358 Phoenix West II units sold for as much as $850,000, but due to the recent decline in the economy and real estate, prices were considerably less.

Will the $37.2 million be enough to get the project completed? Kennon said he thinks so.

“The amount is not enough to finish the project, but it is enough to get it moving along swiftly and get it to the point where future buyers will see that the building is going to get finished with a few more purchases.”

As for BP, Kennon said he thinks the settlement was fair to them as well.

“I think for BP, the settlement is probably very fair, considering what the judgment might have been against them had they gone to court.”