Panama City Beach Margaritaville community to continue booming growth with new town center
PANAMA CITY BEACH — William Bullock says "the pace" of development at Latitude Margaritaville Watersound "is pretty darn incredible."
As president of the Latitude Margaritaville Division of Minto Communities USA, Bullock said the upcoming community, which broke ground in 2020, began construction on phase one of its town center this month.
Designed to complement the intracoastal waterway, the center could take about 16 months to build and will boast a handful of amenities, including a restaurant, fitness center, pool, spa, amphitheater and tennis and pickleball courts.
Bullock noted it is a staple part of the Jimmy Buffett-inspired community that is geared toward those 55 years old and older.
"This is a retired group of folks (who are) moving to enjoy now," he said. "Getting that lifestyle structure in early is extremely important. It's a commitment we made to the buyers — one that we recognized is critically important and sets us apart from our competition."
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Located along State 79 near its intersection with State 388, the community is being built on land owned by The St. Joe Company through its partnership with Minto and Margaritaville Holdings.
Mike Kerrigan, spokesman for St. Joe, said he believes the carefree lifestyle that Latitude residents enjoy is because of the many amenities available to them. He said such amenities also are a main reason why so many people are attracted to the community.
These features help "neighbors get together, spend time with each other and form friendships," Kerrigan said.
"It's a very exciting time in the project and a great milestone," he said. "This is an important project to the St. Joe Company, and we believe it's (also) an important project to the region and to Northwest Florida. To see the pace of development, the interest in potential residents and the reaction of folks when they go out to the sale center ... is really rewarding."
The Bay County site is Minto's third Latitude location. The others are in Daytona Beach and Hilton Head, South Carolina.
The first wave of local development will include 3,500 homes, which come in four styles for buyers to choose from. They range from about 1,200 square feet to more than 2,500 square feet and cost from $230,000 to $420,000.
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More than 290 homes have been sold so far and about 125 are under construction. The first 65 to 70 buyers are scheduled to close on their homes and move into the community before the end of the year.
Becca Hardin, president of the Bay County Economic Development Alliance, said she believes the community not only will have a "tremendously positive impact" on the local economy, but also help ignite future developments around Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport.
Located less than 10 miles from Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, the airport has experienced record-breaking numbers of passengers during the past six months and is on track to have its best year ever.
Hardin added that with the help of Latitude and other local developments, she is confident Bay County will experience a level of growth during the next decade that most locals cannot imagine.
"There's a lot of developments that we're working on ... that are looking to locate operations at the airport campus," Hardin said. "When we bring prospects into town, they tell us (they) can feel the energy and that Bay County is on the crest of really exploding.
"The Latitude project is going to be a true catalyst for that (growth)."