BP money helps top off mega-project | Fox10tv.com

BP money helps top off mega-project | FoUpdated: Wednesday, 13 Apr 2011, 2:18 PM CDT
Published : Wednesday, 13 Apr 2011, 10:29 AM CDT

Originally Published by FOXTV 10

Link: http://ht.ly/1car9A

Matt Barrentine
Photojournalist: Franz Barraza
Orange Beach, Ala. (WALA) - TOPPED OUT

A mega-project in Orange Beach passed a milestone Wednesday. The 358-unit Phoenix West condo tower was “topped out” as the concrete core of the building was finished. This is a project that was nearly put on hold by the oil spill.

It took more than 37 million dollars from BP to put the largest construction project in Alabama back on track. But here it is… the Phoenix West two condo in Orange Beach Wednesday afternoon it was “topped out” an expression that means the concrete core of the building has been completed.

Developer, Gene Brett, from Brett Robinson, said, ”Just never give up. That’s what were doing. That’s what we’ve done. The completion is in sight.”

Brett is excited the money negotiated from BP has the building back in the red. Last year, during the oil spill, pre-sales of the units nearly ground to a halt.

”Construction never stopped, “ Brett said, ”but it was a much lower pace than we needed to complete the building in a timely fashion.”

60 PERCENT SOLD

Brett said now 60 percent of the 358 units have been pre-sold and he’s hopeful the property will continue to draw more investors.

”The first quarter… first few months of this year have been great,” Brett told us.

A MASSIVE PROPERTY

By square footage Phoenix West II will be the largest building in Alabama and only the RSA tower in Mobile will be taller. It will be constructed at a total cost of 245 million dollars. Architect John Senkarik told us the building is built to withstand the worst, with 34 miles of concrete piles anchoring it to the ground.

”If you lined them up end to end they would go from downtown Orange beach to Mobile,” Senkarik said.

Turning the massive concrete skeleton into a fully functioning condo tower will take another two years. Hopefully long enough for developers to put the oil-plagued summer of 2010 well behind them.

BP GAG-ORDER

The developers can’t talk about specifics of the financial arrangement with BP. Like many others, they’ve had to sign a legal release with the oil giant.

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