Orange Beach
Orange Beach Is Selling Its Event Center to The Wharf. Read the Fine Print.
The city gets $5.565 million in cash and a $1.935 million interest-free loan. The loan gets repaid with tax money The Wharf generates. Under the terms reported in April, after Dec. 31 the city can't book its own former venue without the buyer's permission.
Orange Beach is selling its 18,000-square-foot Event Center at The Wharf to Wharf Retail Properties, LLC, the developer across the street. Mayor Tony Kennon says the city has been losing money on the building, which hosts more than 100 events a year. (WEAR)
The headline number is $7.5 million. Here is what that number is made of.
How the deal works
| Piece | Amount | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Cash for the building | $5,565,000 | Paid to the city |
| Loan to the city | $1,935,000 | No interest. Meant for a new, smaller event center |
| Loan repayment | Installments | Paid from certain tax revenue generated by The Wharf, folded into an "updated warrant" that combines existing obligations with the new loan |
| Lease-back | Free through Dec. 31, 2026 | City keeps running the venue until year end |
| Bookings after 2026 | Buyer's consent required | Existing 2027 and 2028 bookings transfer to the buyer |
In plain terms: about a quarter of the $7.5 million is a loan to the city from the buyer. That loan is repaid from certain tax revenue generated at The Wharf, not from the city's general fund.
The terms changed in September
The deal was first scheduled for a council vote in April, according to WEAR and NBC15. On Sept. 15 the council took up "modifying terms" of the sale. (OBA) A Gulf Coast Media preview said the $1.9 million would be repaid on a 75-25 split of tax revenues generated by the center, without saying which side gets which share. No report we could find says what changed from April, or how the vote went.
A possible new civic center site
On Oct. 20 the council approved $16,300 for soil testing on a proposed civic center site on the south side of Canal Road, near the library and the PowerSouth substation. (Gulf Coast Media) The city has not said whether this is the planned replacement venue, what a new building would cost, or who owns that land.
The other Wharf-area deal
This isn't the only Wharf-area deal tied to city tax revenue. In January 2025 the city gave the Margaritaville resort at Wharf Landing a 50% rebate of city sales and lodging taxes for 30 years or until an interest-free city warrant of up to $95 million is repaid. (Gulf Coast Media) In August the council voted 5-0 to let the resort break the city's sign rules for a rooftop sign, an oversized waterslide sign and a rooftop video screen. City Planner Griffin Powell's explanation: "This particular Margaritaville brand really doesn't fit into our current sign requirements." (same story)
Island Insider will report who is behind the buyer, Wharf Retail Properties, LLC, once state business filings are reviewed.
Questions Orange Beach hasn't answered
- Did the city get an independent appraisal of the Event Center before agreeing to $5.565 million?
- Was the building offered to any other buyer?
- What "existing obligations" are folded into the updated warrant, and what is the total the city owes under it?
- What changed in the Sept. 15 amendment, and how did each member vote?
- What will the new civic center cost, and who owns the Canal Road site?
See something wrong? Tell us and we will correct it in public. Know more? Send a tip.