ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — Mandalay Beach may be on its way with a new investor interested and a major hotel chain planning to collaborate.

During a special called council meeting in Orange Beach last week, attorney Greg Leatherbury requested a 60-day PUD extension for a Canadian corporation who plans to buy the stalemated project from the six banks that separately own sections of Mandalay Beach.

Leatherbury, who is an attorney for the Hand Arendall law firm which is representing the corporation, would not release the name of the company, or hotel counterpart, but said it had more than 300 shareholders. He also said the hotel chain was a “major hotel flag.”

The 60-day extension would set it to end just before the new council takes over, allowing the current council to make a decision of its fate at the end of the 60 days. Councilmember Larry Alexander suggested extending the request to the first meeting of the new council giving them the opportunity to make the decision on this major project.

Due to the legality of changing the proposed extension, the council decided to leave it as it stood and passed the 60-day extension.

Leatherbury explained that while there is a possibility of minor modifications to the original plan, a major hotel and convention center are the main focus of the project as it was originally.

“It would be good for the city,” Leatherbury said.

Also during the meeting, the council passed a resolution to authorize the mayor to execute a loan extension with Vision Bank for $3.45 million. The loan was taken out to purchase lots in Bay Springs subdivision as part of the Wolf Bay Bridge project.

The original loan was paid off from the reserve fund and now the city is refinancing with Vision Bank for the loan used to pay back the borrowed money in the reserve fund.

The interest rate will be set at 4.75 percent and Orange Beach Mayor Pete Blalock said that the bank has worked with the city to come up with the most positive situation possible.

“Basically, what we are doing is reinstituting the loan that was paid off,” said Tommy Files, a representative of Vision Bank.

City Administrator Ken Grimes explained after the meeting the main focus of the resolution was to switch the payments to a lower interest plan to “keep monies in our emergency reserve fund.”