2003
Designed
159 ac.
Project Size
EBSCO
Client
899
Units
187,000 sq.ft.
Retail Space
Like nearby Seaside and Rosemary Beach, Alys Beach is another model resort town where an explicitly urban experience lives in harmony with nature. The site offered DPZ the rare opportunity to celebrate the Gulf front to wetland transect that is so emblematic of the Florida Panhandle. Long views to the water from points inland are framed by narrow pedestrian passages filled with fountains, gardens, and outdoor seating. As do the other two communities, Alys announces its presence along County Road 30A emphatically— with bold gateway pavilions, cobble-stone slip roads, date palm allée, and a town center green.
Alys’ plan and character are based on the marriage of two unlikely sources: the patio/courtyard house and urban block typologies of Antigua, Guatemala and the white walls and roofs of Bermuda. Overseeing the strict code’s compliance and inspiring architectural excellence, Town Architects KVA have added a unique North African flavor to the Guatemala-Bermuda DNA blend. The resulting aesthetic has given Alys Beach an elegance and brand identity all its own. This distinctive look has clearly contributed to Alys’s per square foot real estate values, among the highest in Florida in the past decade.