Orange Beach city leaders have signed off on a multimillion-dollar land deal that adds a large stretch of waterfront property to the city’s holdings near The Wharf. The council voted unanimously this week to approve the $4.5 million purchase of roughly 32 acres along Canal Road, just behind the Orange Beach Event Center.
The property, a former concrete plant site, includes about 1,100 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway, making it one of the largest remaining undeveloped waterfront tracts inside city limits. City officials described the acquisition as a strategic move to diversify municipal assets rather than let cash reserves sit largely idle.
Mayor Tony Kennon told the council the city already holds an equity advantage by acting early on the purchase. He noted that undeveloped upland acreage of this size is increasingly rare within Orange Beach, and owning the parcel outright gives the city flexibility for future use, whether that means holding onto it, trading it, selling portions, or developing it down the road.
According to the mayor, the city currently holds around $30 million in reserve funds earning minimal interest, making a land purchase with long-term appreciation potential an attractive alternative use of those funds. He framed the deal as a sound business decision rather than a specific development plan, leaving open multiple possibilities for how the land could eventually be used.
The transaction is structured as two separate purchases from different property owners. One entity holding about 15 acres of the site will receive just under $2 million, while a joint ownership group holding the remaining roughly 17 acres will be paid just over $2.5 million, together totaling the $4.5 million price tag.
Before the sale is finalized, the city plans to conduct a full property inspection along with an environmental survey of the former industrial site, standard due diligence steps given its prior use as a concrete mixing operation.
Only one council member was absent for the vote, with the remaining members giving unanimous approval. The purchase adds to a string of recent moves by Orange Beach officials to invest city reserves in tangible assets rather than letting the money sit in low-yield accounts, a strategy the mayor has pointed to as a broader trend in the city’s approach to managing its finances heading into future growth.
With its substantial water frontage and proximity to one of the area’s most heavily trafficked commercial and entertainment districts, the property is likely to draw interest for future civic or recreational use as the city considers its next steps.