Alys Beach???

Seen Greek islands? It works there, as well as other places. The white buildings contrasted with the deep blue water is stunning. Of course there you have terraced hillsides and cliffs.





Personally I'm going to wait and see. My early opinion is it will be too tight for my taste (as every 30-A development is), but I have no doubt that it will be in as high demand as any other developments close to the beach.

I hope WU doesn't mind if I post this link - it describes the development along 30A perfectly. We got a style for everyone here!

http://www.waltonundercurrent.com/fjord.htm

I hope WU doesn't mind if I post this link - it describes the development along 30A perfectly. We got a style for everyone here!

http://www.waltonundercurrent.com/fjord.htm

:rofl:

I have a neighbor in seacrest who thinks the Alys Beach design (white stucco/courtyards/walls) is the greatest thing she's ever seen. So it's appealing to some for sure. Personally, I'm withholding opinion until I see how much green space will be preserved. Sounds like the units themselves won't have any lawn or vegetation to speak of (or if so, would not be visible to the eye outside of the walled-in courtyards), so it would seem to make sense to balance it all out with a lot of greenery. Lots of greenery. : :wink:

I've had a hard time getting in tune with the "walls" idea-- I need to see what they have in mind. My neighbor thinks it's awesome, but I'm on the fence about it. (heh! :laughing1 ) Because if a buyer wants that kind of privacy, and doesnt want to see their neighbor at all, i'd *imagine* they'd be more drawn to, say, buying a house or lot in a beachside neighborhood.

I trust these guys to build something nice, though, they sure have a good track record. I mean, they practically defined the style of architecture that's now universally recognized as 30a/Walton style. I like that they're putting their "park" right near the beach access too. It will give us Seacrester's a fun destination on our beach walks.

BUT, that said, i hope go to great pains to preserve open-ness whereever possible to balance out the walls everywhere.

I agree that landscaping will make a huge difference. I like a lot of different styles. White makes colors really stand out. Colored doors, shutters, and other stuff will add a lot of character, along with gardens, etc.

I trust these guys to build something nice, though, they sure have a good track record. I mean, they practically defined the style of architecture that's now universally recognized as 30a/Walton style.

Who do you mean by "they"? DPZ?

And what is the universal 30a/Walton style?

Who do you mean by "they"? DPZ?
And what is the universal 30a/Walton style?

i read an article in a realty information site last month about how seaside's cottage/frame/balcony architecture was being recognized as an "identifiable" style attibutable to our area, and it was now being studied and copied to an extent by a few "new urbanist" developers in Europe. They were supposedly giving props to seaside and were intending to emulate it to some degree. That's what i was referring to. If i'm uninformed, I apologize.

i read an article in a realty information site last month about how seaside's cottage/frame/balcony architecture was being recognized as an "identifiable" style attibutable to our area, and it was now being studied and copied to an extent by a few "new urbanist" developers in Europe. They were supposedly giving props to seaside and were intending to emulate it to some degree. That's what i was referring to. If i'm uninformed, I apologize.

No apology needed - I was just confused. Duany Plater-Zyberk (http://www.dpz.com - great links page there) are the town planners leading the new urbanism movement which sort of started in Seaside and was influenced heavily by Italian towns designed around a piazza, but as far as the architecture - a lot of different firms have contributed.

Everyone copied Seaside (and many still do). Which was copied from southern / cracker and northeastern coastal styles. And then a lot of folks copied Rosemary which drew from Charleston and the caribbean. Many now are copying WaterColor, which again relies heavily on influences from cracker / southern styles. Some call it cracker chic which is kind of funny in a mildly ironic way.

If SoWal has a style it is a blend of all those. People all over the world study examples of SoWal town planning and style. No doubt there will be entire college courses devoted to SoWal one day. I hope they leave out stucco boxes which will surely be covered in the South Florida class. :roll:

Not to be forgotten is Jeffrey Prescott, a Destin architect that early on published a couple of books with cottage designs - http://www.classic-cottages.com. Most are designed to fit on 50' lots. The cottages draw heavily from Seaside / southern influences. The well-done stock plans have been used by many builders and owners for many years in SoWal.

Tom Christ is a long-time local architect who draws influence from the islands. And Matt Savoie came over from New Orleans and brought a lot of French quarter / creole style.

Hasn't anyone been to Bermuda - the most beautiful island ever - Aly's Beach is based on Bermuda architecture - however, they do have a lot of pink houses there, certainly not all white. I'm going to have to take a ride down there and see how it is coming along. Don't you just love the Aly's Beach vehicle as seen in their parking lot and in the Seaside 4th of July parade!

Hasn't anyone been to Bermuda - the most beautiful island ever - Aly's Beach is based on Bermuda architecture - however, they do have a lot of pink houses there, certainly not all white. I'm going to have to take a ride down there and see how it is coming along. Don't you just love the Aly's Beach vehicle as seen in their parking lot and in the Seaside 4th of July parade!

Bermuda....not my fav. Lots of pink houses with white concrete roofs though. To be fair, we went in early August...hottest vacation I can ever remember...no breeze. Also, we stayed at the Pink Beach Club. My daughter coined a new phrase there...."Tropical Dirty Dancing"!

Let us know how Alys is coming along!

I heard a rumor that the sales agents at Alys Beach are making lots of calls to try to drum up people willing to buy lots. Apparently, lots of people have lost interest and they are trying to find buyers. I also heard a rumor that they are changing the method of offering properties for sale (won't be sealed bid in the future). Can anyone confirm the rumors based on direct contact with someone at Alys?

Hasn't anyone been to Bermuda - the most beautiful island ever - Aly's Beach is based on Bermuda architecture - however, they do have a lot of pink houses there, certainly not all white. I'm going to have to take a ride down there and see how it is coming along. Don't you just love the Aly's Beach vehicle as seen in their parking lot and in the Seaside 4th of July parade!

Oh, yes, we've been to Bermuda many times. We loved staying at Ariel Sands where they have a saltwater pool where you can swim with the tropical fish. On one visit when we took our daughter at age two, she pointed to the fish and said, "Oh, my goodness! Dose are gorgeous!" We still tease her about that. Guess you had to be there.

Five years from now I bet that eastern end of 30A will be phenomenal. Once Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach and Watersound are more developed it should be quite fun to bike or walk between them. The visual contrast between the architecture of the areas will be amazing.

Last I heard Alys Beach was interviewing people to see if they would allow them to purchase their very expensive property. None of the friends I have who have been through the interview process have been called. Maybe they did not make the cut.

My husband and I have discussed opening a sunglass shop there...it would make a killing.

The place is beautiful, there is no denying it, blinding or not. You would have to be blinded not to think so.

Last I heard Alys Beach was interviewing people to see if they would allow them to purchase their very expensive property. None of the friends I have who have been through the interview process have been called. Maybe they did not make the cut.

My husband and I have discussed opening a sunglass shop there...it would make a killing.

The place is beautiful, there is no denying it, blinding or not. You would have to be blinded not to think so.

Excuse me....did you say interviewing? This sounds like NYC kinda' stuff!

Five years from now I bet that eastern end of 30A will be phenomenal. Once Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach and Watersound are more developed it should be quite fun to bike or walk between them. The visual contrast between the architecture of the areas will be amazing.

Might take another 5 years times 5 years for Alys and Watersound to be on solid footing. Due to the unusual architectural style at Alys, it has been the lease successful of all developments along 30A. People just aren't warming up to the place.

It would be interesting to see the total number of sales in Alys in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 compared to the other major developments along 30A. Watercolor seems to have the most robust sales by a long shot and Alys appears to be way, way behind the rest of the pack.

Might take another 5 years times 5 years for Alys and Watersound to be on solid footing. Due to the unusual architectural style at Alys, it has been the lease successful of all developments along 30A. People just aren't warming up to the place.

It would be interesting to see the total number of sales in Alys in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 compared to the other major developments along 30A. Watercolor seems to have the most robust sales by a long shot and Alys appears to be way, way behind the rest of the pack.

Looks like they are going backwards, I see at least two lots re-puchased by Ebsco from buyers. I wonder if that was to prevent foreclosure sales from popping up?

Might take another 5 years times 5 years for Alys and Watersound to be on solid footing. Due to the unusual architectural style at Alys, it has been the lease successful of all developments along 30A. People just aren't warming up to the place.

It would be interesting to see the total number of sales in Alys in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 compared to the other major developments along 30A. Watercolor seems to have the most robust sales by a long shot and Alys appears to be way, way behind the rest of the pack.

Define warming up to. Every event they've held in the last 2 years has been packed to the point that parking was difficult.

The price point may be a little high for this area, but they are far from in trouble.

Define warming up to. Every event they've held in the last 2 years has been packed to the point that parking was difficult.

The price point may be a little high for this area, but they are far from in trouble.

Alys Beach is truly a sight to behold. It is stunning and MoonCreek Studios pictures of it are remarkable. I love its aesthetics. I personally will never understand who makes/has the money to sustain an entire community at that price point, but I will continue to admire its beauty as I drive on to my personal 30-A destination. ˆguess only time will tell how it will build out.

Define warming up to. Every event they've held in the last 2 years has been packed to the point that parking was difficult.

The price point may be a little high for this area, but they are far from in trouble.

Events and selling real-estate are two different things. Regardless, Ebsco is well diversified and has deep pockets, I doubt they'll run into any financial trouble. I think it'll just take time to fill in, there isn't a lot of money out there these days for high end, enviro sensitive RE.

EBSCO Industries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Looks like they are going backwards, I see at least two lots re-puchased by Ebsco from buyers. I wonder if that was to prevent foreclosure sales from popping up?

It could be that or a 'trade.' Construction loans for the superjumbo market is very difficult right now and if the owner of the lot can't break ground by their contract date, they are fined. So, there is sometimes the option to trade the lot for a home being sold. Just a thought~~~~

I think Alys Beach is beautiful, too!!!!

Events and selling real-estate are two different things. Regardless, Ebsco is well diversified and has deep pockets, I doubt they'll run into any financial trouble. I think it'll just take time to fill in, there isn't a lot of money out there these days for high end, enviro sensitive RE.

EBSCO Industries - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

IMO ALys Beach actually is high-end construction - making it much more desirable post-bubble than other places that just have high-end prices.

If I had the money I would certainly be buying a concrete bunker in a community with great events over other 30-A options.

Not to mention that THE thing right now is LEED and green construction - for health, conscience, and pocketbook reasons.

IMO ALys Beach actually is high-end construction - making it much more desirable post-bubble than other places that just have high-end prices.

If I had the money I would certainly be buying a concrete bunker in a community with great events over other 30-A options.

Well, sales compared to places like Watercolor don't show that. Alys got caught in the down turn, I think recovering will require a number of years of slower growth. In time I'm sure the community will do just fine.

Not to mention that THE thing right now is LEED and green construction - for health, conscience, and pocketbook reasons.

Which would you rather own and insure, a small house with simple construction you could rebuild with 150K or less, or a high-end LEED™ constructed 1.5 million dollar white stucco a storm surge could wipe off the face of the map with little effort regardless of it's accolades? Lets face it, Alys appeals to the guilty conscience of the richy rich, (I believe I've made this assertion before in these threads) and offers "green construction" you have to pay for. There aren't as many richy riches out there these days. The buy backs show at least a few owners weren't as rich as they thought. It'll take time for the community to recover.

I think Alys is simply great marketing, nothing more, nothing less.