Orange Beach, Ala. – (OBA) – The blighted Bama Bayou project will come down and come down soon according to a deal in the works between Orange Beach and owners of The Wharf. Mayor Tony Kennon couldn’t be happier.

“We hopefully are going to get these eyesores down,” Kennon said. “This has been a 14-year nightmare and the only people that have gotten rich are the attorneys. And, it makes me sick to my stomach to think that these suckers have gotten rich off of everybody else.”

In August, The Wharf along with principal owner Art Farve bought all of the land connected to Bama Bayou except for five acres where the abandoned buildings were. It totaled about 87 acres with about 47 of those wetlands.

“We worked out a deal with them for Art to get the property all the buildings are on so they can tear them those buildings down right away,” Kennon said. “In trade, we’re going to get 24 acres, a huge amount of acreage to the north of the property. Most of it is wet to use for either trails or walking trails of some type. Some type of outdoor activity.”

While details are yet to be worked out and contracts formally signed, The Wharf paid about $5 million for the parcel with the buildings and Orange Beach will give the developers tax abatements to recoup that cost.

“They bought roughly 100 acres but it did not include the buildings,” Kennon said. “The buildings were carved out by the bankers and the lawyers and they sit on a five-acre piece. Initially, they did not won’t to sell those for whatever reason. We worked out with Art through his entertainment district and tax abatements a way to pay for it.”

When The Wharf was developed the city agreed to give owners a 50 percent tax cut on sales and lodging taxes for 25 years and the same deal was offered to a Texas company in 2019 if Bama Bayou was bought and the property completed. That deal fell through.