A 1.8-acre beachfront lot home to the now-closed Romar Beach Baptist Church in Orange Beach is set to transform into a 100-room hotel.

AC Retreat by Marriot will have six floors. The ground floor will serve as a parking area; the second will have additional parking, a reception/lobby area and office spaces; the third floor will have lodging rooms, a fitness room and media salon; the fourth and fifth floors will have lodging rooms only; and the sixth floor will have a rooftop bar, according to public documents from the rezoning request, which Orange Beach City Council unanimously approved at its Dec. 16 regular meeting.

Located at 23370 Perdido Beach Blvd., this site is adjacent to The Oasis at Orange Beach condominiums and Beach Music duplexes to the east and west, Village of Tannin commercial area to the north and the Gulf to the south.

The location is within the Beach Resort District and must comply with district requirements, including increased pedestrian access paths and sustaining and enhancing surrounding commercial development.

A rezoning from Multi-Family Residential High Density (RM-2) to Planned Unit Development (PUD) was required to set the construction process in motion.

According to the site history on the agenda item's staff memo, the current building was constructed in 2007 after the original church building was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004. At some point, the steeple was removed, which decreased the overall height of the building by about eight feet.

PUDs were previously awarded in 2021 and 2023 to convert the location into a 76-room hotel, but both have since expired.

Per the City of Orange Beach, Baldwin County public records indicate the property changed ownership in 2021. A demolition permit was issued in 2023 to prepare the interior for future designs. Building permits have not been requested or approved at this time.