The Fort Walton Beach City Council unanimously approved a major development order Tuesday for construction of a 16,194 square-foot daycare facility at Freedom Tech Center.
- The council voted 6-0 to authorize the development order for Grow With Us Learning Academy at 620 Liberty Lane Northwest. The facility will serve children from six weeks through kindergarten and offer aftercare programs for children up to 12 years old.
“When we first started FTC, one of the first critical needs Eglin [AFB] and members of the community talked to us about was childcare,” said Nick Vlahos, vice president of The Jay Odom Group, representing the project. “We talked to a number of national companies, but we were really excited to meet a local company, a homegrown company that started in Fort Walton.”
Grow With Us Learning Academy, headquartered in Fort Walton Beach, currently operates six locations throughout the Florida Panhandle. The Freedom Tech Center location will be the company’s seventh facility.
Christopher Frassetti, growth management director, told the council the project met all requirements within the Land Development Code and the planned unit development approved for the site. The Growth Management Department received the application April 28 and completed its final review June 11 with no additional staff input required.
- “There’s nothing really outside the norm there. It met all the criteria,” Frassetti said during the meeting.
The single-story building will include multiple playgrounds and aims to open by August 2026 ahead of the school year. The facility will provide early infant care and pre-K and kindergarten programs.
Councilman David Schmidt made the motion to approve the development order, which was seconded by Councilman Bryce Jeter.
“I feel like these past couple months, y’all keep coming to us with a huge investment of helping meet needs and we just greatly appreciate it,” Schmidt said to The Jay Odom Group.
