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DESTIN: More public beach will soon be a reality as groundbreaking ceremony set to take place

➡️ The “Gateway to Crystal Beach” is now on its way to becoming a reality thanks to the partnership between the City of Destin, the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and Trust for Public Land. 🗓 The public is invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the Shore at Crystal […]

➡️ The “Gateway to Crystal Beach” is now on its way to becoming a reality thanks to the partnership between the City of Destin, the Okaloosa County Board of County Commissioners, the Tourist Development Council and Trust for Public Land.

🗓 The public is invited to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for the Shore at Crystal Beach Park Expansion on Monday, April 12th at 10 a.m., located at 2964 Scenic Highway 98.

“This initiative is one of the highest priorities for the City of Destin. Our tourist tax dollars are being reinvested back into public beach so that we can deliver on the promise of the Destin brand and meet the expectations of our residents and visitors,” said Mayor Gary Jarvis. 

💰 The City of Destin has pledged $9,000,000 and Okaloosa County $13,000,000 for potential beach acquisitions to expand beach access in Destin. The Trust for Public Land, which the City of Destin has partnered with to aide in the process, has negotiated to purchase three properties adjacent to the Shore of Crystal Beach Park. Two have closed with a third pending.

💵 The combined cost of these acquisitions is $10.6 Million plus some ancillary closing costs which are estimated under $50,000. Funding for the initial set of acquisitions is proposed to be funded with the following ratio — 59% County ($6.28+ Million) and 41% City ($4.37- Million), based on the dollars pledged by the city and the county. The County’s funding comes from the tourism bed tax dollars while the City’s comes from ½ cent sales tax dollars.

“We recognize the desire for more beach access,” said Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners Chairman, Carolyn Ketchel. “Through this acquisition and partnership, we can accommodate the need for our community to enjoy the beaches year-round.”

➡️ The groundbreaking ceremony will be the first step in creating more access to public beach for residents and visitors. Following demolition, the partners will fine tune park elements, according to a press release.

Completion of the project is anticipated for the main 2021 tourism season. 

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“Very glad to see this project going through,we don’t live here but we brought our bikes here from misssouri and drove over to 30A to ride”
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“I suggest revising this statement: "doubling the number of travel lanes from the current four to six" since doubling four does not yield six.”
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“No there was never one here.”
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“Sad that I know him and had no idea!”
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“I take it that he only did half of 27 years which is 13 1/2 years .He apparently missed his inmate friends. What made him think he could get away...”
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“How can we get this started at Bluewater ? yeah Mrs Crist , still loving and making a difference in children’s lives .”
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“This is such an awesome idea! Ms. Crist was my daughter Valerie's 2nd grade teacher when Valerie attended Bluewater Elementary School! Ms. Crist was born to teach!! Nellie Bogar, Youth...”
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