Forgotten Gulf dispatches form Mobile and Dauphin Island

New blood on the beach.

One of the areas I enjoy focusing on I have dubbed the "ForgottenGulf" .  This area encompasses coastal Alabama and parts of Mississippi.  My favorite subject in this area is Dauphin Island, which for unknown reasons was labeled as "destroyed" by hurricane Katrina by media outlets.  Nothing could have been further from the truth and has just added further veracity to my term for the region. 

Yes there was damage, I lost a cottage that had been on the glorified but glorious sandbar called the WestEnd.  It sat a few hundred feet from the hightide line, it had survived many storms at 13 ft above sea-level and was destroyed by another home hitting it.  The house directly behind it was practically untouched.  The reason I say the damages were overblown is I have another home 1 mile to the East, tucked behind a dune that only lost a couple screens in the porch.  The island was hardly "destroyed" except for the press that even 2 years later have longtime vacationers called in to ask if the bridge has been rebuilt.  Of course the bridge over the Mississippi Sound was not damaged and the road to Dauphin Island was opened one day after the storm.  The press can be our worst enemy and best friend.

Well onto my story of new blood on the beach.  This is not a fish story or an excerpt from a Stephen King novel.

These reports are from myself and an insurance company executive friend:

1)  On the day that ThyssenKrupp (a German multinational) announced their 3.9 Billion investment in Mobile county (and not in La) I was having lunch at the Gulf front restaurant, Flamingo Fae's (located at the 18 hole gulf front Isle Dauphine golf club) when I notice a couple near me having lunch.  At about that time another gentleman walked in and loudly made known that they were acquaintances but was surprised at seeing each other.  The significance of this meeting was they were both German and both had found this little hidden gem independently.

2)  A week or so later my friend was down on the golf clubs beach and spied a couple of guys walking the beach dressed in a style seen in Miami and Europe but not on Alabama beaches.  When they strolled by he overheard the German language being spoken.

Basically, we are seeing what I hope are scouting parties who will bring more Europeans to our piece of Forgotten Gulf and jump-start the 2nd home market.  they are already snapping up primary homes in Mobile (30 minutes inland) so the next step will be to follow in the footsteps of Mobilian's and have a nearby beach or boating home. 

ThyssenKrupp to bring up to 24,000 jobs to Mobile County, Alabama

A convergence of positive news and macro events continues to propel Mobile county forward.  All these events and announcements seem to have created the early stages of a boom in principal homes, new sub-divisions, employment and consumer sentiment.

ThyssenKrupp joins several recent announcements from large multinationals who have chosen Alabama as the site of major US projects.  This site in Mobile county will see a minimum of 3.9 BILLION dollars in direct investment to build the plant.  These figures only hint at the impact of investments by support companies who will follow.

One of several reasons Mobile, AL reminds me of Charleston, SC 25 years ago.

Foreign Direct Investment Magazinelisted Mobile as a leader in several categories:

Top 10 small cities of the future:  Ranked # 8 Mobile, AL

Small cities - best economic potential:  Ranked #2 Mobile, AL

Small cities - most business friendly:  Ranked #1 Mobile, AL

All these rankings raise the area's profile internationally with the business/industry site selection groups.

These comments along with the Antebellum/Creole/Mardi Gras charm of Mobile, the strategic location on a deep water port, access to plentiful supplies of energy and beautiful coastal playgrounds elevate the area to one on a longterm growth spurt.

 If you do not know Mobile and the region surrounding her then you are truly missing out.  Even with price appreciation in Mobile the values are like low hanging fruit.  And the buyers market along the Gulf Coast is expected to follow the trend of any beach front region and rebound sooner than later.

See may next blog on the "incursion" of new blood along the beaches.

In Mobile, Alabama Airbus under the guise of EADS North America is lobbying to build the planes at the former airbase and seaport Bookley Field.

If EADS wins the contract then Mobile, nearby Mississippi, Dauphin Island and parts of Florida will reap the rewards of 1500+ high tech jobs and salaries.  EADS already has a military contract to construct helicopters in Mississippi.

This week the Paris Air show highlighted Mobile's high profile in the race to land the contracts.

In reception rooms filled with southern drawls could be heard the Gallic tones of top officials from EADS and Airbus.  Sharing the dais with Governor Bob Riley was Louis Galois, co-ceo of EADS (Parent of Airbus), Ralph Crosby, the chief executive of EADS North America, and Allan McArtor, chairman of Airbus North America.

Also, attending were Senator Jeff Sessions, senator, Richard C. Shelby, members of the State Legislature and a majority of the members of the Mobile City Council.

The contact by the European aerospace and military giant wants to secure a $40 billion contract to provide 179 aerial refueling tankers to the US Air Force.

This competition is valuable to our coastal region as it raises the profile of this spectacular area in the eyes of Euroland, the USA and around the world.