Margaritaville at The Wharf: Council Approves the Amenity District Signage
A lazy river, a water slide tower, a pool bar, and a very big Margaritaville sign. Here is what Orange Beach just approved, and what I would want every buyer of new waterfront construction here to think about.
Every time something new happens at Margaritaville, my phone lights up.
Orange Beach is welcoming one of the most talked-about new waterfront developments on the Alabama Gulf Coast: Margaritaville Resort Orange Beach at The Wharf. It sits along the Intracoastal Waterway, directly across from The Wharf, and buyers who love boating, marina living, resort-style amenities and the ease of new construction keep asking me what is next.
This time the news came from City Hall. At the Orange Beach City Council meeting, August 18, 2026, the Council approved zoning for the resort’s amenity district. I read the summary carefully, and I want to share what it says, what it does not say, and how I would think about it if I were the buyer.
Margaritaville At The Wharf | Intracoastal Waterway Orange Beach Alabama Homes and Condos For Sale
Please note
This page is my summary of a public agenda item from the Orange Beach City Council meeting, August 18, 2026. It is not legal advice and it is not an offer to sell anything. Please verify every detail with the City of Orange Beach and with the developer before you make a decision.
What the Council approved
The headline is zoning, but the story is signage. Here are the numbers that matter.
A word I want to explain
PUD stands for Planned Unit Development.
To me, it is a special zoning path where a project follows its own approved plan instead of squeezing into the standard zoning rules. In this case the land, about 7.8 acres within the resort, moved from General Business to PUD so the resort-specific signage could be approved.
Two dates worth knowing
The amenity district is approved
The amenity district is approved. Signage for it comes later, which is what this page is about.
The PUD is approved
The Council approved preliminary and final PUD zoning for about 7.8 acres so the resort-specific signage can go with that amenity district. Mayor Tony Kennon abstained.
The Short Version
What the council approved, in short
Click a topic to open it.
The zoning
About 7.8 acres within the Margaritaville Resort at The Wharf Landing were rezoned from General Business to PUD, with preliminary and final approval at the same meeting.
What did not change
The amendment does not change the site plan, building layout or uses. The amenity district itself was approved in August 2025.
The amenity district
Four buildings: the Fins Restaurant and Bar, the Salty Rim Pool Bar, restrooms, locker rooms and equipment facilities. Other amenities are a water slide tower, lazy river, children’s pool, dry playground, and a stage and event area.
The signage
The PUD exists mainly to allow Margaritaville-branded signage that does not comply with the City’s standard sign ordinance. The specifics are just below.
The vote
The Council approved the PUD. Mayor Tony Kennon abstained.
“A finished amenity district tells you how it looks. The approvals behind it tell you how it was thought through.”
Why the signage details are worth a slow read
The main purpose of this PUD is to allow Margaritaville-branded signage that does not comply with the City’s standard sign ordinance. That is a big sentence, so I looked at each request by itself. Here is the size of the asks, approximate figures from the meeting summary.
Requested versus the City’s standard limit
Bars are drawn to scale within each pair. Figures are approximate and come from the Orange Beach City Council meeting, August 18, 2026.
Restaurant wall signage
About 225 square feet, compared with the City’s 125-square-foot limit.
Roof-mounted signage
Signage on the roof, which would otherwise be prohibited.
The water slide tower
Signage roughly 50 to 55 feet high, compared with the City’s 15-foot freestanding sign limit, plus a wider-than-permitted sign on the tower.
The pool bar
A roof-mounted electronic video screen.
Staff first expected this signage to need Board of Adjustment variances, which means permission to depart from a rule, one request at a time. Adding signage on the water slide tower is what led staff to recommend handling everything through a PUD.
My take: signage is not decoration at a branded resort. It is part of the promise. The Margaritaville name and its look are what many buyers are choosing, so I can see why one coordinated plan can make more sense than one variance after another. I also think a buyer deserves to know exactly what was requested, including a tall tower sign and a video screen in the mix.
Resort feel, in writing
Because the amendment does not change the site plan, building layout or uses, I read this as the resort settling into its look rather than changing its plan. Still, I would ask three things before I got attached to any unit: where exactly will the signs and the video screen sit relative to the residences, what will the screen show and when, and how will the rules for these amenities be described in the documents you receive.
A lazy river, a water slide tower, and a stage
I like to picture how a place is lived in before I judge it. The amenity district includes a water slide tower, a lazy river, a children’s pool, a dry playground, and a stage and event area, along with the Fins Restaurant and Bar and the Salty Rim Pool Bar.
The pool bar and restaurant
Four buildings anchor the district: Fins, Salty Rim, restrooms, locker rooms and equipment facilities. I always tell buyers to picture a Saturday in July at the pool bar, not just a quiet Tuesday in March.
The lazy river and the tower
This is the resort-day part of the picture. I think it will be a big draw, and I also think buyers should ask how the space will be managed, who may use it, and when.
The stage and event area
Music and events are part of the personality of this side of Orange Beach. It is part of what makes The Wharf area feel alive, and part of what makes it different from a quiet residential street.
I want to be clear that the meeting summary lists these amenities and describes the signage. It does not say who has access, whether anything is included with ownership, or what it costs. I will not guess, and I encourage you not to either.
Thinking about buying new at Margaritaville?
If the amenity district is part of what drew you in, I would love to talk through what this approval means for your questions. Call or text me.
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“Two units in the same resort can have very different ownership experiences. That is why I read the documents, not just the renderings.”
Boaters, the Intracoastal, and the airport
None of this changes why the location works. Margaritaville sits along the Intracoastal Waterway, directly across from The Wharf. It is not Gulf-front in the traditional beachfront sense, but it offers something many boaters prioritize even more: a direct connection to the Intracoastal and close proximity to one of the area’s major marina hubs.
Boaters think differently when they evaluate real estate. The view matters, and so do water depth, slip access, fuel proximity, bridge clearances, navigational routes, marina services and storage options. The Wharf Marina gives boaters access east toward Perdido Bay and west toward Mobile Bay, and from this area you can connect to Orange Beach waterways, Terry Cove, Bayou St. John, Perdido Pass and the Gulf of America.
Air service matters too. The expansion of commercial air service at Gulf Shores International Airport makes the Alabama Gulf Coast easier to reach for second-home owners and buyers who split time between states.
What I would ask about new construction resort condos
When a buyer asks me where to begin with a resort development that is still going up, I start with a handful of questions. The answers come from the developer, the plans and the paperwork on the specific residence, not from me guessing.
Who can use the amenity district, and on what terms?
Owners, guests, rental guests, the public? Included, or extra? I want it in writing.
What are the association dues, and what do they cover?
Projected monthly or quarterly dues, master insurance, and any resort, club, marina or rental management fees.
Is it a condominium, cottage, villa, or hotel-condo?
The ownership structure shapes financing, insurance, rental expectations and resale.
What are the owner-use and short-term rental rules?
Reservation rights, rental program details and any restrictions on how you can use your own residence.
How are boat slips handled?
Deeded, assigned, leased, transient-only, or first-come, first-served? Slips are not one-size-fits-all.
What is the timeline by phase?
Ask what could move it and how changes are communicated.
How close is my residence to the pool, the signage and the events?
Two units in the same resort can sit very differently relative to the action.
The best waterfront purchase is not always the one with the prettiest rendering. It is the one where the lifestyle, ownership structure, boating access, insurance, financing and long-term value all make sense together. For a look at pricing, see my Margaritaville condo pricing update page, and for the questions buyers keep sending me, my Margaritaville questions and answers. If you are comparing tower-style condo living, my Phoenix Key tower condos page is a good companion. And if you are weighing different kinds of waterfront, here is why Ono Island is a market that runs differently.
“The best waterfront purchase is not always the one with the prettiest rendering.”
The questions
Margaritaville at The Wharf questions buyers ask me
Click a question to open the answer.
What did the Orange Beach City Council approve for Margaritaville at The Wharf?
At the Orange Beach City Council meeting, August 18, 2026, the Council approved preliminary and final Planned Unit Development (PUD) zoning for about 7.8 acres within the Margaritaville Resort at The Wharf Landing. The property was rezoned from General Business to PUD.
The main purpose is to allow Margaritaville-branded signage for the amenity district that was approved in August 2025.
Did the approval change the site plan, building layout, or uses?
No. The amendment does not change the site plan, building layout, or uses. It is about signage and the zoning path that allows it.
If you are weighing a purchase, that is worth remembering. This item is not a redesign of the amenity district.
What is in the amenity district?
The amenity district includes four buildings: the Fins Restaurant and Bar, the Salty Rim Pool Bar, restrooms, locker rooms and equipment facilities. Other amenities are a water slide tower, a lazy river, a children’s pool, a dry playground, and a stage and event area.
Who can use each amenity, and on what terms, is a question for the developer and your purchase documents. Call or text me and I will help you ask it.
What signage did the PUD allow?
The requested deviations from the City’s standard sign ordinance were restaurant wall signage of about 225 square feet versus the 125-square-foot limit, roof-mounted signage that would otherwise be prohibited, signage roughly 50 to 55 feet high on the water slide tower versus the 15-foot freestanding sign limit, a wider-than-permitted sign on the tower, and a roof-mounted electronic video screen at the pool bar.
The Council approved the PUD, and Mayor Tony Kennon abstained.
Why a PUD instead of variances?
Staff first expected the unique resort signage to need Board of Adjustment variances. Once signage on the water slide tower was added, staff recommended handling the deviations through a PUD instead.
Does this mean units are available or what they cost?
This council item does not speak to pricing, availability, unit counts, completion dates, or association details, and I am not going to guess at any of them here. I keep my Margaritaville condo pricing update page and my Margaritaville questions and answers page as my starting points.
For where things stand today, call or text me at (970) 389-2905.
Will the signage affect my day-to-day as an owner?
I do not know yet, and I would not want anyone to assume. A wall sign, a tall tower sign, and a video screen all raise fair questions about location, lighting, hours and what the screen will display. Those are questions for the developer, and I would put them in writing before you buy.
Is Margaritaville at The Wharf on the Gulf?
It is on the Intracoastal Waterway, directly across from The Wharf, not Gulf-front in the traditional beachfront sense. Boaters can head toward Perdido Pass and the Gulf of America from this stretch of water. If you are comparing waterfront styles, call or text me and I will walk you through the tradeoffs.
More Margaritaville and Orange Beach, With Meredith
June 2026 Margaritaville condo pricing update
Margaritaville questions and answers
Why Ono Island is a different market
This page is a summary of a public agenda item from the Orange Beach City Council meeting, August 18, 2026, written in my own words. Details, approvals and plans can change, so please verify them with the City of Orange Beach and the developer. Any listing information shown on this page comes from the MLS, is deemed reliable but not guaranteed, and should be independently verified.
Meredith · Search The Gulf | Bellator Real Estate · Call or text (970) 389-2905
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