Located just 10 miles from Alabama’s popular Gulf Coast resort area, The Park at OWA in Foley, Ala., has become a travel destination in its own right in just a couple years. Combining an amusement park featuring more than 20 rides – including one of the longest roller coasters in the United States – with two themed shopping and entertainment districts, it has quickly become popular with locals and tourists, alike. Drawing on classic Southern coastal architectural themes, designers with Pensacola, Fla.-based STOA Architects opted for PAC-CLAD metal roofing panels from Petersen throughout the new park.

It began welcoming visitors in the summer of 2017, and The Park at OWA’s almost instant popularity earned it the title of 2018 Attraction of the Year from the Alabama Tourist Department. It was developed by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians – Owa means “big water” in the tribe’s Muscogee Creek language and refers to the centerpiece 14-acre lake created for the facility. The shopping and restaurant districts, along with an onsite hotel, help attract more than the thrill-seeking crowd, and plans are on the boards for further expansion.

STOA Architects wanted to create an old-style boardwalk look for the facility, and steep-slope metal roofing was a key ingredient in those plans. Of course, the proximity to salt water and history of hurricanes also played a role in the metal roofing’s specification.

“We live in a high-wind district, and metal just tends to hold up better than anything else,” said Billy Landry, a project manager and estimator for Reelentless Construction, the Theodore, Ala.-based roofing installer for buildings in the park’s Downtown and Warehouse retail areas, along with entry structures for the amusement park, itself. “And with metal, you get the look – it’s more and more popular every day.”

In all, Landry’s team installed more than 42,000 sq. ft. of Petersen’s 0.40 gauge PAC-CLAD Snap-Clad panels with striations across 10 to 12 buildings, along with almost 6,000 sq. ft. of PAC-850 Soffit Panels and 1,300 sq. ft. of 7/8-in. Corrugated Panels. STOA’s designers wanted to create the look of boardwalk districts that had developed over time, so each building’s roof had its own customization requirements, Landry said. This meant little consistency for the installers, who had to treat each building as a separate project.

“The Paula Deen building was a pretty big challenge for us,” Landry said, referring to the Paula Deen Family Kitchen restaurant that’s one of the park’s largest eateries. “It had angle changes and some sections were steep. And the two entrance towers had non-walkable sections, where everything had to be done out of a manlift. There was no repetition from one spot to the next.”

STOA’s team came to Landry with Petersen’s PAC-CLAD products already in mind, Landry said. “Before we had a contract, we sat down with them and we all agreed on the Snap-Clad in 0.40 aluminum. It’s a great product; always has been.”

Because this was a fast-track project with plenty of weekend work, Landry especially appreciated the ways Petersen’s products made his crew’s life easier. “Snap-Clad is installer-friendly – that’s the biggest thing,” he said. “And the technical assistance from Petersen is very easy to work with. We got the materials on time, as we needed it.”

The amusement park occupies only half of the Park at OWA property, while a shopping mall fills the other half. The mall, like the amusement park, consists of multiple small buildings, most of which are covered with Petersen metal roof panels.

Reelentless Construction in Theodore, Ala., installed 53,000 sq. ft. of Petersen's Snap-Clad standing seem roof panels in .040 gauge aluminum finished in PAC-CLAD colors Hemlock Green, Cityscape, Terra Cotta on 10 buildings in the retail section of the park.