Pelican Place at Craft Farms
A 372,000-square-foot open-air lifestyle center serving Gulf Shores and the surrounding Alabama Gulf Coast.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Pelican Place at Craft Farms is an open-air lifestyle center in Gulf Shores, Alabama, developed as the principal retail and entertainment component of the 150-acre Craft Farms master-planned community. The center occupies approximately 372,000 square feet, or 34,600 square meters, and combines shopping, dining, entertainment, and nearby hospitality uses in a pedestrian-oriented setting. Its planning concept includes a linear streetscape of inline retail buildings, a restaurant plaza, and a splash fountain. The development is separated from the golf-oriented Craft Farms community by a landscaped man-made retention pond. The project originated in the early 2000s under the name The Pinnacle at Craft Farms. In 2004, the city of Gulf Shores acquired the first 44 acres from local landowner Robert Craft for approximately $10 million. The land was intended to support an upscale open-air shopping center, with the city planning to lease the property to Colonial Properties Trust if the development proceeded. The proposed lease was structured for a 30-year term and included provisions concerning the types of retailers and restaurants pursued for the center. The project’s early leasing strategy emphasized a mix of national and specialty merchants, including prospective apparel, book, music, sporting-goods, and restaurant tenants. Securing Target as an anchor was identified as an important element of the original development plan. Colonial Properties developed the center as part of its Pinnacle lifestyle-center platform. In June 2007, Colonial Properties entered a joint venture with Langley Properties Company of Kentucky. The arrangement enabled Langley to pursue financial incentives associated with the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005 and made it the development’s later management company. The project was subsequently known as Pelican Place at Craft Farms. The center’s principal anchor and destination uses have included a 60,000-square-foot, 14-screen Cobb Theatres multiplex, a 15,676-square-foot Books-A-Million store, and a 25,344-square-foot Bed Bath & Beyond location. The Bed Bath & Beyond space was later occupied by Bealls Home Centric in August 2024 after Bed Bath & Beyond’s retail business ceased operations. A Publix supermarket and a 90-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel are located immediately south of the center and contribute to the broader commercial ecosystem around the property, although they are distinct from the shopping-center complex itself. In September 2015, Langley Properties sold Pelican Place to Atlanta-based RCG Ventures for more than $18 million. RCG Ventures became the property’s owner following the transaction. The center has also been associated with a proposed long-term expansion to approximately 650,000 square feet, although the available reference material does not establish that the full expansion was completed. Pelican Place remains a regional shopping and leisure destination focused on convenience, family entertainment, dining, home furnishings, books, groceries, and Gulf Coast tourism-related traffic.
History
Pelican Place at Craft Farms was conceived as the retail and entertainment center of the Craft Farms master-planned community in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The project was initially called The Pinnacle at Craft Farms and formed part of Colonial Properties Trust’s broader Pinnacle lifestyle-center development strategy. Rather than functioning as a traditional enclosed mall, it was planned as an open-air center with a street-oriented arrangement of shops, restaurants, entertainment venues, and pedestrian amenities. The public-sector foundation for the development was established in 2004, when the city of Gulf Shores paid approximately $10 million to acquire the first 44 acres from local landowner Robert Craft. The city intended to lease the property back to Colonial Properties Trust if the company successfully developed an upscale open-air shopping center. The proposed lease term was 30 years. Under the arrangement described in the reference material, Colonial would make annual lease payments after the city’s related debt had been retired. The bond agreement also gave city officials a role in approving prospective stores for the center’s smaller shop spaces. The early leasing plan called for a broad tenant mix. Colonial pursued national apparel and specialty retailers, including Ann Taylor LOFT, American Eagle Outfitters, Coldwater Creek, and Swim & Sport, while also seeking a music store, book store, specialty retailers, and upscale restaurants. Target was regarded as an especially important anchor prospect. These plans reflected the project’s intended role as an upscale regional destination rather than a purely neighborhood convenience center. In June 2007, Colonial Properties entered a joint venture with Langley Properties Company, a Kentucky-based real-estate company. The partnership allowed Langley to pursue incentives available under the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005. Langley later became the development’s most recent management company before the property changed ownership. During this period, the center transitioned from the Pinnacle at Craft Farms name to Pelican Place at Craft Farms. The completed center covered about 372,000 square feet. Its physical design was attributed to CMH Architects of Birmingham, Alabama, which also designed Eastern Shore Centre in Spanish Fort. The main inline buildings were organized along a linear streetscape. To the east, the streetscape connected with a pedestrian-focused restaurant plaza and splash fountain. This layout supported a lifestyle-center format built around outdoor circulation and a combination of shopping, dining, and entertainment. Pelican Place developed three principal anchor or destination uses: a 60,000-square-foot, 14-screen Cobb Theatres multiplex; a 15,676-square-foot Books-A-Million store; and a 25,344-square-foot Bed Bath & Beyond store. The property was also closely connected to adjacent uses south of the center, including a 45,000-square-foot Publix supermarket and a 90-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel. These neighboring facilities were separate from the principal shopping-center footprint but strengthened its role as a wider commercial and visitor-serving node. In September 2015, Langley Properties sold Pelican Place to RCG Ventures of Atlanta for more than $18 million. RCG Ventures became the owner following the sale. The property had also been planned for a possible expansion from approximately 372,000 square feet to 650,000 square feet, although the available reference does not confirm completion of the entire proposed expansion. A later tenant change followed the closure of Bed Bath & Beyond’s retail operations. In August 2024, the vacant Bed Bath & Beyond premises were replaced by a Bealls Home Centric home-furnishings store. This change preserved the home-goods role of the space while updating the tenant mix. Pelican Place therefore continues to operate as a Gulf Coast lifestyle center serving local households, Craft Farms residents, regional shoppers, and visitors to Gulf Shores.
- 2024
Bealls Home Centric replaces Bed Bath & Beyond
[1]Bealls Home Centric opened in the previously vacant Bed Bath & Beyond space in August 2024.
- 2015
RCG Ventures acquires Pelican Place
[1]Langley Properties sold the center to RCG Ventures of Atlanta for more than $18 million.
- 2007
Colonial Properties forms a joint venture with Langley Properties
[1]Colonial Properties entered a joint venture with Langley Properties Company, enabling the project to pursue incentives associated with the Gulf Opportunity Zone Act of 2005.
- 2004
Gulf Shores acquires initial development land
[1]The city of Gulf Shores acquired approximately 44 acres from Robert Craft for about $10 million to support the planned Pinnacle at Craft Farms open-air shopping center.
Products and positioning
A regional open-air lifestyle center combining everyday retail, destination shopping, restaurants, cinema entertainment, and nearby hotel and grocery uses for Gulf Shores residents, visitors, and the Craft Farms community.
Shopping center
Open-air retail center
The core offering is a 372,000-square-foot lifestyle-center environment organized around an outdoor linear streetscape. It provides inline retail space, destination stores, restaurants, pedestrian circulation, and public-facing amenities rather than the enclosed-corridor format of a conventional mall.
Entertainment
Cobb Theatres multiplex
A 60,000-square-foot, 14-screen cinema served as one of Pelican Place’s principal destination and entertainment anchors. The theater helped broaden the center’s appeal beyond routine shopping and supported evening and family-oriented visits.
Books and specialty retail
Books-A-Million
The 15,676-square-foot Books-A-Million store was identified as one of the center’s three principal anchors. Its presence provided book retail and related media and gift merchandise within the lifestyle-center tenant mix.
Home furnishings · 2024
Bealls Home Centric
Bealls Home Centric occupies the former 25,344-square-foot Bed Bath & Beyond premises. The home-furnishings concept replaced the vacant unit in August 2024 and maintained a home-goods-oriented use within the center.
Dining and placemaking
Restaurant plaza and splash fountain
The pedestrian-oriented restaurant plaza and splash fountain form a central experiential feature of the property. They support outdoor dining, informal gathering, and family-oriented activity within the center’s open-air layout.
Brand decisions
2024
Replacement of Bed Bath & Beyond with Bealls Home CentricOtherBackground
The Bed Bath & Beyond premises became vacant after the retailer’s retail operations ended.
Action taken
Bealls Home Centric took over the former 25,344-square-foot Bed Bath & Beyond space in August 2024.
Aftermath
The center retained a home-furnishings anchor use with a new tenant.
2015
Sale to RCG VenturesM&ABackground
Langley Properties was the development’s most recent management company before the ownership transaction.
Action taken
Langley Properties sold Pelican Place at Craft Farms to RCG Ventures of Atlanta.
Aftermath
RCG Ventures became the property owner.
Property sale price. more than $18 million (September 2015)
2007
Colonial Properties and Langley Properties joint ventureStrategyBackground
The project was being developed within the Gulf Opportunity Zone created after the 2005 legislation.
Action taken
Colonial Properties entered a joint venture with Langley Properties Company to advance the development and pursue available financial incentives.
Aftermath
Langley became the project’s later management company before selling the property to RCG Ventures in 2015.
2004
City-backed land and lease structure for the lifestyle centerStrategyBackground
Gulf Shores sought to stimulate an upscale retail and entertainment development connected to the Craft Farms community.
Action taken
The city acquired approximately 44 acres and planned to lease the land to Colonial Properties Trust for a 30-year development arrangement, subject to the project proceeding.
Aftermath
The arrangement established the land and public-finance framework for the project that began as Pinnacle at Craft Farms and later became Pelican Place.
Land acquisition price. approximately $10 million (2004)
Sources2 sources
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