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 state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

directly off of CR 30A, on the

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coast, coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The list of U.S. states and territories by coastline, coastal states that have a shor ...

. Alys Beach plan was designed by

Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company DPZ CoDesign (DPZ) (formerly Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co. and DPZ Partners) is an architecture and town planning firm based in Miami, Florida, founded in 1980 by the husband-and-wife team of Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk. The firm is one o ...

. The village is approximately .About. History
/ref> 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 ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

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 Rosemary Beach is an unincorporated planned community in Walton County, Florida, United States on a beach side road, CR 30A, on the Gulf Coast. Rosemary Beach is developed on land originally part of the older Inlet Beach neighborhood. The town ...

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

. The three are examples of a style of urban planning known as

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

. The design vision of Alys Beach was based on

Moorish The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or se ...

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 north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

villages and architectural styles of

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

. The courtyard's design was inspired by homes in

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

and

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. The Alys Beach community is constructed following the Fortified for Safer Living standards by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety.

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

Location

Design

History

Education

See also

References