'The Retreat at Daphne' Apartments — Part of Rowan Oak — Before Planning Commission May 28

The Daphne Planning Commission meets at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 28, at Council Chambers in City Hall. The Retreat at Daphne site plan is listed as Item 5.A under Old Business on the draft agenda — File SP26-04. The project is described in the agenda as approximately 17.96 acres northwest of the intersection of County Road 13 and the Milton Jones Road Extension, currently zoned Planned Unit Development (PUD).

Draft agenda excerpt, May 28, 2026 Daphne Planning Commission meeting, page 1.

The bigger project: Rowan Oak

The Retreat at Daphne is the apartment component of a much larger development. The agenda title identifies the site as the Rowan Oak PUD, formerly referred to as The Sanctuary — names the project has gone by since planning began.

The overall Rowan Oak development is a 134.31-acre mixed-use project being built by Daphne-based 68 Ventures (through its 68V Baldwin Land Holdings, LLC subsidiary) in partnership with the Boni family, who owned the land. The Daphne City Council annexed the property into the city and approved its pre-zoning to PUD at its June 17, 2024 meeting, according to Gulf Coast Media.

The Rowan Oak master plan, presented to the Planning Commission by Chloe Kelly of 68 Ventures on September 26, 2024, includes single-family residential subdivisions, a townhouse complex, an apartment complex, and commercial enterprises along Friendship Road. A separate phase — The Hamlet at Rowan Oak, Phase 2, a 28.17-acre, 85-lot single-family subdivision — was before the Planning Commission for a preliminary subdivision plat on March 27, 2025.

The Retreat at Daphne is the apartment piece.

Who is listed on the application

The May 28 agenda lists the following parties for the site plan review:

• Developers: East Wind, LLC and Berkley Hall Construction, LLC
• Owner: Real Bird Road, LLC
• Engineer: Hagen Engineering

Berkley Hall Construction is a Greensboro, N.C.–based luxury apartment builder that registered an Alabama branch on October 13, 2020, according to corporate records. The agenda does not specify the relationship between these entities and 68 Ventures, the master developer of the Rowan Oak PUD.

The road work next door

The Retreat is a few hundred feet from active road construction. The City of Daphne and Baldwin County partnered on a $3.3 million roundabout and Milton Jones Road extension at County Road 13, with the county paying $2.8 million and Daphne covering the rest. The intersection closed on May 4, 2026 and is scheduled to remain closed through the end of August, according to reporting by UTV44 and Fox10.

This is Phase 1 of a larger east-west corridor plan. Phase 2, estimated at roughly $10 million, would extend the route from Pollard Road to Stanton Road and require a bridge over Rock Creek.

The Rowan Oak PUD approval included an estimated $893,700 in public-benefit commitments to the city, according to Gulf Coast Media's coverage. Those included donation of right-of-way for the Milton Jones Road extension, roundabout improvements at County Road 13, design of intersection improvements, a 1.8-acre parcel earmarked for a public park, and construction of two pickleball courts.

What to expect at the meeting

The Retreat is listed under Old Business, meaning the project has been before the Planning Commission previously. No separate public hearing is scheduled for this item on the May 28 agenda.

Residents who want to speak about it have a standing Public Participation slot near the top of the meeting, before the commission takes up specific items. The meeting is open to the public regardless.

A site plan review at the Planning Commission level is typically the final approval step before a multi-family project can move to building permits.

Also on the May 28 agenda

Four other items are marked as public hearings:

• Item 7.B — Sabal at Fish River Master Plan Revision, Phase 1A Preliminary Plat, and Fish River B Preliminary/Final Plat (three files)
• Item 7.C — James A. and Barbara Conaway Trust pre-zoning amendment and annexation petition (18.61 acres at County Road 64 West and Centipede Drive)
• Item 7.D — DAK Investments, LLC rezoning at 805 Randall Avenue (R-2 to B-3)
• Item 7.E — Water Oaks master plan review (Wooten Engineering)

Non-public-hearing items also on the agenda include a sidewalk-waiver request for the J H Wright Warehouse on Pollard Road (Item 7.A — a separate property not connected to The Retreat), a site plan review for Italian Village of Daphne at County Road 64 and Highway 181 (Item 5.B), and a wetland-buffer modification request for the Haven at Daphne project (Item 7.F).

The agenda is marked "Draft 05/11/2026" and may be revised before the meeting.