Developers of the Gulf Shores Embassy Suites project made a request to the city to allow a revision to the project dates during the Dec. 2 council meeting and work session. The ordinance was an addition to the published agenda.

The project was originally set to begin construction July 1 of 2019 with a projected opening of late fall, 2021. In June, 2019, the developers tweaked the timeline and planned to begin construction January, 2020 and open in late March, 2022.

At Monday’s meeting developers received permission from the city to push the timeline once again. Ordinance 1963 was approved by the Gulf Shores City Council and mayor and the new projected start date for construction will be September, 2020.

King Scovell with Woodbine Development presented the city council with an update on the project.

“We have been looking to take square footage out of the building to get the cost in order, none of which has compromised the amenities, street scape, room count or parking. It has taken quite a bit of time to get there so we are asking for a little more time in 2020,” Scovell said.

Overall the building height has been reduced and the hotel now contains eight floors a drop from the originally planned 10 floors. The amenity deck was also reduced from two floors to one.

Scovell assured the council that the reduction in building size has not changed the amenity agreement with the city. The agreement calls for a ballroom, 254 rooms and retail related parking. The amenity deck features over 10,000 square feet with a pool and bar area.

“It was important to us to interact with the street scape so we thought if we could scale the amenity deck down it would feel more walkable and approachable.”

There are still a lot of tasks to be completed before construction can begin. Scovell listed those tasks as:

- Further develop the interior schematics

- Seek competitive bids in the first quarter of the year

- Complete construction drawings

- Execute contract with the contractor

- Obtain permits

- Close on the site

- Mobilize for construction

Mayor Robert Craft asked Scovell, “In an ideal world, when would you like to start construction? What is your initial goal?”

“The schedule tells us the we need until Sept. 30, 2020. Ideally, we start in July to make the summer season. We are going to be moving full steam ahead given your approval to meet that July 4 date so that we can open in May, 2022 for the summer season. Construction will take 22 months from groundbreaking to completion,” Scovell said.