Orange Beach decided to move forward with two new projects after this week’s council meeting and work session. One of those will happen across the street from the senior center, library and art center campuses. A second will be a connection with the recreation center campus with a new trail.

Both a design contract for a new civic center on the south side of Canal Road and a bid for a trail at Contorno Park were discussed in the work session meeting and will be voted on in a regular session at a later date.

If voted in, the council would authorize a design contract with Seay, Seay & Litchfield for professional design services for a new civic center for $692,725.

“We hope to design a building that can accommodate around 500 to 600 people seated,” City Administrator Ford Handley said. “This is to support more of our local groups.”

Handley said the city hopes to start construction on the civic center in 2027 with a target completion date in late 2028 or early 2029, with the total cost of the center at $11-$13 million.

The city is in the process of selling the Event Center at The Wharf and Nov. 4 the council authorized an updated appraisal from the Appraisal and Consultant Group for $10,000.

On Nov. 25, city officials will open the bids on the Contorno Park Trail to be built east of Sam’s Stop N Shop on Canal Road.

“The Contorno Park bid is for a paved walking trail around the lake of the Contorno house that will connect to the improved Walker Lane,” Handley said. “This is part of a long project to connect the two campuses together.”

The home was the former residence of former Sam’s owner Mike Contorno who was partners with his nephew and former mayor Steve Russo. It was recently purchased by the city and plans call for the home to become offices for the Parks and Recreation and the area a park. The cost for the trail is estimated at $200,000, Handley said.

Walker Lane runs north and south on the west side of the Community Center and will serve as an entrance to the new pickleball courts the city is building near the spot of the old community garden and former Orange Beach Wildlife Center.

Another east-west road north of the tennis courts is also under construction to connect with Walker Lane and the pickleball courts. Completion of the courts is set for 2026 at a cost of $1.3 million. Another $1.2 million was spent on drainage and parking improvements on the recreation campus. The city owns frontage on Canal from Sam’s to Wilson Boulevard.