Alys Beach is an unincorporated

planned community A planned community, planned city, planned town, or planned settlement is any community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed on previously undeveloped land. This contrasts with settlements that evolve ...

in Walton County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

directly off of CR 30A, on the Gulf Coast. Alys Beach plan was designed by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company. The village is approximately . It was named after Alys Stephens (died 2004), the wife of Elton B. Stephens, who purchased the land in the 1970s and began developing the land in 2004. All of the houses are required to have a white color.

Location

Alys Beach is located on the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

in southeastern Walton County. U.S. Route 98 and County Road 30A are the main roads that run through the community. Via County Road 30A, Rosemary Beach is less than southeast, and Seaside is west.

Design

Alys Beach is one of three planned communities on Florida's Gulf coast designed by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. The other two are Seaside and Rosemary Beach. The three are examples of a style of urban planning known as

New Urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...

. The design vision of Alys Beach was based on Moorish and

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

villages and architectural styles of

Bermuda Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

. The courtyard's design was inspired by homes in

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

and

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

. The Alys Beach community is constructed following the Fortified for Safer Living standards by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety. Alys Beach has been compared to a Greek Island.

History

Alys Beach modern history began in 1970s, when the Stephens family purchased the property at auction. The family had been vacationing in the area for many years, and wanted to provide a permanent retreat for an extended family and their employees. Family patriarch Elton Stephens named estate after his beloved, Alys Robinson Stephens (1910–1996).

Education

Walton County School District is the local school district. It is zoned to Dune Lakes Elementary School.

References

{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Walton County, Florida New Urbanism communities Populated places established in 2004 Unincorporated communities in Florida Populated coastal places in Florida on the Gulf of Mexico Planned communities in Florida New Classical architecture in the United States

Location

Design

History

Education

See also

References