The wait is over … the Foley entertainment development is going vertical with the first hotel along with the event center for the Foley Sports Tourism Complex. During a South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce luncheon on June 14, Tim Martin, CEO of CIEDA, took the chamber members on a tour through the evolution of this development.

He stated at that time the hotel would be a Marriott product and the second hotel, a resort convention hotel, would be next in line.

Foley Holdings LLC — the operating entity charged with overseeing the development — is anticipating the destination to attract visitors from a 400-mile drive radius who would choose to stay overnight or plan a day trip.

“This type of family-friendly destination we’re going to be bringing to Foley, I think helps the region as a whole,” Martin said in June.

The development has been given a name but it has not been released to the public. Foley Holdings is in the final stages of negotiation with the state of Alabama on development incentives. Upon completion of state negotiations, Foley Holdings intends to host a press event to officially release the new project name and future development plans.

“We plant to recreate a city and we’re going to take that city through a transformation,” Martin said. “We’re going to take the best of it in the old times, then the current commerce of a healthy city — just as Foley is — and take what a city could be in the future, being more of a green, environmental city.”

Martin said the idea for the project will lean on Foley as far as the model for the development.

A family-friendly destination, this development will have something for every member of the family. Phase one of the includes this 150-room hotel attached to the city’s event center, a 14-acre lake with an island, 225,000 square feet of retail dining and entertainment space and a 10-acre theme park with 20 rides, including one major rollercoaster.

Since January, Foley Sports Tourism has hosted more than 17 events which has generated more than 10,000 visitors to this area. FSTC consists of 16 state-of-the-art fields and the 90,000 square foot indoor event center.