The University of Alabama has enjoyed record-breaking success in football under head coach Nick Saban, but the school has also seen a surge in on-court success in basketball and gymnastics.
It’s been such a success that it has been noticed by Sports Illustrated, and the company is eyeing Tuscaloosa as the home of its first luxury resort.
The announcement was originally made for 2023.
More details about the proposed project were revealed Thursday at a meeting of the Riverfront Advisory Committee.
It will be located along the Black Warrior River on Rice Mine Road at the intersection of McFarland Boulevard.
The resort specializes in capturing the passion of college sports fans.
The anchor will be a 137-room, 10-story hotel accompanied by 250 timeshare units, 150 private condominiums and retail space.
The developers were asked how they plan to fill vacant units outside of football season.
Elias Vavaroutos of Lamar Johnson Collaborative LLC says it’s all about planning and delivering year-round experiences: “The whole goal of the property is to make it kind of a multi-use destination, so living, the vacation club, the food and beverage venues, the event lawn — we’re trying to make all of those into attraction pillars, and a lot of that will be events.”
The aim is to connect the project to the Tuscaloosa Riverwalk.
The project now goes to a council committee for consideration.
