One of Florida’s tallest flagpoles now stands as a symbol of freedom and community spirit in Fort Walton Beach, following a grand opening ceremony for the Freedom Tech Center on Thursday.

The Jay Odom Group hosted the event at 1900 Lewis Turner Boulevard, featuring a flag raising ceremony, flyover, and reception at the newly-built Home2 Suites by Hilton on the property. 

• Community members and local officials gathered on the center’s large green lawn to watch as the Eglin Air Force Base Color Guard raised a massive American flag measuring 70 feet by 110 feet on a 200-foot-tall flagpole.

Florida Department of Commerce Secretary Alex Kelly and developer Jay Odom delivered remarks during the ceremony, highlighting the significance of the project for the local community and its ties to the military presence in the area.

The Freedom Tech Center is a 52-acre mixed-use development operating under a long-term enhanced use lease program with the Air Force. The project aims to redefine the work-live-play concept in Fort Walton Beach, offering hotels, luxury apartments, venues, and plans for Class A office spaces and multiple restaurant sites.

Secretary Kelly, speaking on behalf of Governor Ron DeSantis, emphasized the importance of military-based communities to Florida’s economy and identity.

• “Our military-based communities are actually our second largest industry,” Kelly said. “Not a lot of people realize this. Our second largest industry in the state of Florida is now military and defense. It actually surpassed agriculture.”

Kelly highlighted the state’s 20 major military installations, over 66,000 active duty personnel, and 1.4 million veterans, noting that the military and defense sector creates almost a million jobs around the state.

“There’s no part of Florida where jobs, the livelihood, the quality of living, what we appreciate about our state — there’s no part of the state that’s not connected to our base communities,” Kelly added.

The secretary praised the Freedom Tech Center as a symbol of the unique relationship between the military, job creation, and quality of life in Florida. He expressed enthusiasm for the project’s potential to drive economic growth and enhance the community’s appeal.

• “I only look forward to seeing how this community is going to continue to grow and prosper, the jobs you’re going to create, and the kind of quality of life that you’re going to add to here in Okaloosa County,” Kelly said.

Developer Jay Odom, the visionary behind the Freedom Tech Center, shared his journey in bringing the project to fruition. Odom, a lifelong resident of the area who grew up in Shalimar, reflected on his childhood experiences near Eglin Air Force Base and how they shaped his understanding of freedom and the military’s role in preserving it.

“When you’re young, you don’t understand what freedom is,” Odom said. “You have it, you enjoy it, you play, you go to school, you participate in sports, you go on vacation. You have lots of freedom. But when you’re young, you don’t understand what freedom is and what it takes to provide and maintain freedom.”

Odom described the Freedom Tech Center as a “centerpiece of the community” and envisioned it becoming the “epicenter of the region for living, working, playing, and eating.” The flag, he says, is a beacon of freedom. He emphasized the project’s potential to create a self-contained environment where residents can live, work, and enjoy entertainment without leaving the development.

• The developer highlighted the collaborative effort required to bring the project to life, praising the support from various stakeholders including the Air Force, the city of Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa County, and the state of Florida.

“It’s been a long road, but you can see today that we’re coming to fruition on the project,” Odom said. “There will be a stage and we’ll have all kinds of outdoor events and things for the public and for our residents that live here, people that work here, people that come from out of town to stay here, can all enjoy entertainment and things that we can provide here.”

Odom emphasized the importance of local involvement in the project, stating his preference for community-focused development over outside investors primarily motivated by profit. He praised the Air Force for its foresight in making the 52-acre property available for development and recognized the rarity of such an opportunity in the area.

“Having lived here my whole life, knowing the market, and that there is no land of this size available anywhere in this community, I knew immediately the rare opportunity this presented to be painted as a masterpiece on a blank canvas,” Odom said.

The ceremony began with an invocation by Okaloosa County Commissioner Mel Ponder, who read from Psalm 20 and offered a prayer blessing the project, its developers, and the military community.

Following the flag raising by the Eglin Color Guard, attendees witnessed a flyover, adding to the patriotic atmosphere of the event. Odom described the emotional impact of these elements coming together.

• “To see what we just saw, the emotional flag raising by the honor guard, this beautiful flag flying over our heads, the National Anthem and the war planes of yesteryear streaking over — it’s hard not to be proud to be an American today,” Odom said.

The developer also took a moment to express gratitude to the military personnel and their families for their service and sacrifices.

“Without the incredible support of the military, and the sacrifices that the military family makes for us, every day, all the time, I cannot thank them enough for their service and their sacrifice,” Odom said. “It gives everybody the ability to be free, to have freedom, and continue to have freedom. It’s a fight to have freedom. If you don’t defend it, you won’t have it.”

The Freedom Tech Center’s grand opening marks a significant milestone in the development of Fort Walton Beach and the surrounding area. With its mix of residential, commercial, and recreational spaces, the project aims to create a vibrant community hub that honors the region’s strong military ties while fostering economic growth and enhancing quality of life for residents and visitors alike.