Mobile Alabama’s waterfront now has a new port container terminal, according to wkrg.com news.  The port is preparing for larger ships that are expected to travel through the expanded Panama Canal in 2014 and more container shipments.  The new container terminal was estimated to cost $300 million and covers 135 acres of Mobile Alabama’s waterfront area.  Operations at the terminal began in October at a rate of one ship a week with 1,000 containers per ship; however, the terminal officially opened this week with Gov. Bob Riley and local officials present.

Mobile Alabama has already seen benefits to the economy from this terminal with more warehouse business and dockside employment.

For information on living and buying a home in Mobile AL, contact your local realtor Barbara Reeves via email or the Talk Now featured on this page.

Just when you thought Mobile Alabama couldn’t be better, Mobile city officials reveal a new plan that will keep the city moving forward.  In this ‘master plan’ which was unfurled this week, more apartments and shops may be in the city’s future along with a riverwalk beside Mobile’s waterfront.  Other projects include the rejuvenation of some neighborhood areas, a new sports complex on Hickory street, and updated theatres and shops.

The plan was put together carefully with research and public input in mind and will need to be approved by Mobile’s city planning commission and council before Mobile’s skyline will see some changes.

According to a recent report from the Commerce Department, sales of new homes took a surprising increase in September; single-family new home sales increased by 2.7 percent this past September 2008.  This was unexpected as many economists had predicted a drop in sales due to the numbers from August.    It was also reported that median home prices decreased to their lowest level in four years.  The median price of new homes sold last month was $218,400, which is a 9.1 percent decrease compared to a year ago.

For more information on available homes and property in the beautiful Gulf Coast region, including Mobile, West Mobile, Spanish Fort, Fairhope, and Daphne Alabama, contact local realtor Barbara Reeves by email or via phone by clicking on the “Talk Live” symbol at the top of the right hand column of this page.

The recent Mobile Alabama annexation vote this past Tuesday brought two out of four possible areas outside of Mobile into the city.  The two areas include Theodore, which is just south of the city’s boundaries, and the Windmill Place subdivision slightly west of Cody Road.  This vote was the most recent of the three main efforts toward possible annexations of surrounding areas into the city of Mobile Alabama in the past year.  Previous areas that voted to be added to the city’s jurisdiction include Mobile Terrace residents with some retail laden portions of Airport Boulevard and Schillinger Road and the Mobile Regional Airport.

As a result of the annexation, residents of Theodore and Windmill place will enjoy free city garbage and trash pickup as well as city funded street lighting; Theodore is also expected to have a fire station and a police mini-precinct, as well as a park.  As far as economic impacts, Theodore will have a higher sales tax in their stores (i.e. from 7.5 percent to 9 percent) and property taxes are expected to increase once a five-year grace period is complete.

For information on real estate in Mobile or West Mobile Alabama contact your neighborhood realtor, Barbara Reeves by email or visit BarbaraReevesRealtor.com.

On Tuesday, September 30th, the Outlaw Convention Center in Mobile Alabama will be holding an event to discuss local economic growth.  The event, entitled Coastal Economic Outlook, will have five speakers presenting their findings from their analysis of facts on the Gulf Coast’s local economy.  

The purpose of this public event is to take a look at how development efforts have affected the economy, thus providing the statistics for what has been accomplished for the year; in some cases this data has influenced the financial choices of individual residents as well as businesses on the whole. There will be a Coastal Economic Outlook reference book assembled from the conference to provide anyone with interest in the Coastal region’s economy a firsthand look at the year in growth.

For more information on attending this unique event visit the University of South Alabama’s Center for Real Estate Studies.  For more information on the speakers and purpose of the conference visit baldwincountynow.com

The Defense Department announced this week their recent decision to cancel the current tanker contract competition for now and allow the next administration to take it over.  The Pentagon will be holding another competition next year for the same $35 billion contract which would involve the construction of new refueling tankers for the US Air Force.

Although Northrop Grumman’s Mobile Alabama location won the initial competition, Boeing claimed unfair treatment and requested that a new competition be held; though a new competition was granted, it will now be postponed until next year.  Both Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman released a statement on the canceling of the current competition, with Northrop Grumman presenting concern about the delay in helping the U.S. Air Force with these new refueling tankers.

Read more about reactions to the Defense Department’s decision at wkrg.com.

image credit: sxc.hu

The town of SaltAire on the western shoreline of Mobile Bay could have a $1 billion economic impact on the area over the next nine years and keep upscale home buyers from moving to Baldwin County, according to a report compiled by a local economist. The 500-acre mixed-use community off Alabama 193 could attract high-income households, according to Semoon Chang, an economics professor at the University of South Alabama, who was paid to do the study.

Jim Wilkie, general manager of SaltAire, said that people don’t associate a community like SaltAire with bringing in jobs, businesses, and other improvements. But "the overall message is just like the building of a steel plant; it will have a lasting impact" on the community. The planned community will have up to 1,250 residences, single-family and multifamily, if built out as envisioned over the next eight to 10 years, according to Wilkie.

The land includes frontage on Mobile Bay and a nature center with kayak launch on Fowl River, a fitness center, jogging and walking trails on the water, two fish-stocked lakes, parks, shops and restaurants.

The residential lots will be sold in stages. About 15 lots have sold and another 18 have just been released for sale, according to agents. Nine homes in SaltAire will be featured in the Home Builders Association of Metro Mobile’s Parade of Homes in October, including the furnished showcase house being built by David Rowe. The current homes range from $499,000 to $799,000, but there are also plans for homes in the $399,000 range, Realtors said. 

Excerpted from Mobile Press-Register,Sunday, August 17, 2008   KATHY JUMPER, Real Estate Editor

Beautiful water-front lots are also now available in the area adjacent to SaltAire.  Visit http://www.barbarasellsdaphne.com/Theodore/Alabama/Homes/Mobile/Belle_Fountaine_Beach/Agent/Listing_1833824.html

Boeing Co. and Northrup Grumman Corp. each emerged from a key meeting with Pentagon officials on Tuesday saying they were pleased with progress on the U.S. Air Force tanker contract, even as speculation mounted that Boeing may drop out of the competition. Tuesday’s meetings were held to discuss the Air Force’s proposed ground rules for the second contest. Newly appointed Air Force Chief of Staff Norton Schwartz told the Associated Press that the service is eager to begin work on the new planes and hoped to avoid an "indefiinite delay in action" on the new tanker.  If successful, Northrop and EADS plan to assemble their KC-30 tankers in a $600 million plant at the Brookley Field Industrial Complex in Mobile, creating 1,500 jobs.  - Excerpted from article in The Mobile Press-Register, George Talbot, Political Editor 8/13/2008

Let’s keep thinking positive thoughts - c’mon Pentagon! These 1,500 new jobs would greatly impact Mobile’s economy and boost the local real estate market.

Three members of Baldwin County Alabama’s own County Commission members spent most of this week at a major aerospace industry event. From Tuesday to Thursday Farnborough International Air Show was held near London England, giving Baldwin County representatives a chance to keep the name of Mobile Alabama’s Northrop Grumman Corp location in the forefront of international relations. 

Mobile is expected to become a key player in the aerospace industry in the near future and although the U.S. Air Force is running another competition for their $40 billion refueling tanker contract, Northrop Grumman still has a good chance of being awarded it again. Baldwin County Commission members used this travel opportunity to attract aerospace suppliers to the area in hopes of moving forward in the industry.