Economic Development

UP, UP AND AWAY!

Growth at The St. Joe Company’s nearby developments contribute to, and benefit from, growth at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport

Written By WILLY DUFFY

Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport, the entry point to Panama City Beach and the surrounding area for travelers seeking the fastest route to the coast, served more than 1.6 million passengers in 2021. That’s a record for the 12-year-old airport that is served by four major airlines offering daily flights to more than a dozen destinations. In recent years, the airport expanded its terminal and added additional flights to keep up with growing demand.

Similar growth and increased demand are evident throughout Northwest Florida, including at many of The St. Joe Company’s residential, commercial and hospitality developments in the vicinity of the airport. As more visitors discover the benefits of life in this region, the demand for places to live, work, play and stay is growing in lockstep with demand at the airport.

At VentureCrosings® Enterprise Centre, The St. Joe Company’s business park adjacent to the airport, the company opened a Hilton Garden Inn in the summer of 2021. Within days of opening, the 143-room hotel filled up with beach-going vacationers, business travelers and flight crews looking for a convenient place to stay. Just down the street from the hotel, St. Joe has seen leasable space filling up at its 60,000-square-foot light industrial/warehouse spaces.

NORTHWEST Florida Beaches International Airport served over 1.6 million passengers in 2021, a record for the 12-yearold airport.

The growth and prosperity of the airport, St. Joe’s various projects and Northwest Florida in general are all interrelated. As more people vacation here, do business here or make this their full-time residence, the airport sees increased passenger counts, our hotels, retail center and business parks benefit, demand is created in our residential communities and an economic impact is felt throughout the region.”

— Jorge Gonzalez, President and CEO of The St. Joe Company

More tenants are excited to establish a Bay County base of operations to provide services and materials for the region’s booming growth. Central Moloney Inc., an Arkansas-based company that was no doubt lured by the proximity to the airport and the booming local economy, recently announced plans to occupy 140,000 square feet in the business park. Central Moloney manufactures distribution transformers and transformer components.

Just a short distance from the airport is the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound Community, an active-adult community inspired by the lyrics and lifestyle of songwriter Jimmy Buffett, which is being developed by The St. Joe Company and partner Minto Communities USA. The neighborhood welcomed its first residents in 2021 and has seen tremendous home sales from buyers seeking the Margaritaville lifestyle as they make plans for “growing older but not up,” to borrow a line from Jimmy Buffett himself. With hundreds of its planned 3,500 homes sold or under contract in just the first year, it seems that it won’t be long before thousands of 55 and better residents are calling Latitude Margaritaville Watersound home.

These new residents, in addition to the millions of people who visit Panama City Beach each year, will certainly be looking for places to eat, shop and be entertained. With that in mind, The St. Joe Company broke ground in 2021 on Watersound West Bay Center, a planned lifestyle shopping center at the entrance of the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound community. Plans call for several mixed-use buildings featuring retail and restaurant space on the first floor with office space above. The center, which includes plans for a grocery store, has the potential to include approximately 350,000 square feet of leasable space once it’s built out. Judging by the pace of growth, it stands to reason that it won’t be long before Watersound West Bay Center is home to a bustling shopping and dining scene for residents who will be just a golf cart ride away. Taking advantage of the location, a public marina is planned on the nearby Intracoastal Waterway.

Just down State Road 79, The St. Joe Company is busy developing the Ward Creek Community, a planned 1,600-homesite community located approximately 4 miles from the white sand and turquoise water of Panama City Beach, and only about a 15-minute drive from the airport. If progress on the development goes according to plan, the Ward Creek community will welcome its first residents in 2023.

A growing region needs services and infrastructure to support its new residents, vacationers and businesses. Evidence of these efforts can be seen near the airport and all the nearby developments. State Road 388, the road that travelers use to get to the airport, is currently being realigned and widened to four lanes. Not far from the planned Ward Creek community, the Phillip Griffitts Sr. Parkway recently opened, providing an additional east-west artery in Panama City Beach. At the intersection of this new roadway and State Road 79, The St. Joe Company, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare and Florida State University’s College of Medicine have plans for a medical campus to include a 100-bed hospital, medical office buildings and research facilities. Site work is expected to begin on this future community asset later in 2022.

“The growth and prosperity of the airport, St. Joe’s various projects and Northwest Florida in general are all interrelated,” explained Jorge Gonzalez, President and CEO of The St. Joe Company. “As more people vacation here, do business here or make this their full-time residence, the airport sees increased passenger counts, our hotels, retail center and business parks benefit, demand is created in our residential communities and an economic impact is felt throughout the region.”

The economic growth in the region and the growth of Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport are undoubtedly linked and are sure to remain so. As the saying goes, “a rising tide lifts all boats.” By the looks of things at and around the airport, it is safe to say that the tide in Northwest Florida is certainly on its way up.

THERE'S ROOM for newcomers with 3,500 new homes planned at the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound Community, and the 143-room Hilton Garden Inn now open adjacent to the airport.