We recently got a report that said a new hotel/motel could be coming to the City of Fort Walton Beach.

The old shopping outlet that is located to the left of City Hall was sold on December 17, 2014 for $900,000. The company that purchased the property is 127 MIRACLE STRIP LLC.

A quick look at the corporation’s info reveals that the owners are indeed involved in the hotel industry.

I decided to pay a visit to the abandoned building. Upon pulling into the overgrown parking lot I came into contact with 2 people in charge of doing the asbestos report.

Because I’m not all too familiar with the ins-and-outs of asbestos checks, I simply asked if this was part of the process for tearing down the building.

The answer was YES.

I placed a call to the City of Fort Walton Beach’s Engineering Dept. and they confirmed that a permit application for tearing the building down was received on September 23, 2015, but it had no yet been processed.

From a go-to shopping complex to a payroll company.

Since I grew up in Fort Walton I can clearly remember my mother taking the family shopping at the Russell Mills Outlet. While I don’t remember most of the stores in the complex, I do remember the kickass Converse store on the end.

But like all shopping complexes in F-Dub (Manufacturer’s Outlet Center, anyone?), the plaza soon began to fade and I remember our family making more trips to Pensacola and Destin.

On March 20, 2003, the 20,000 sqft building and property was sold for $2,000,000 and would become the new location for PMI (Payroll Management).

A new hotel could be a good thing…maybe?

Let’s say it was confirmed that a new hotel will be built, while it would sit next to City Hall, it would also sit next to the Days Inn and the Comfort Inn & Suites. And only a few parcels down is the Fairway Inn, Dolphin Inn and Holiday Lodge & Suites.

I’m all for more hotels because I love the idea of people wanting to come to Fort Walton Beach. Here’s to hoping they do something really cool with property 🍻!

What do you think? Do you want another hotel in the City?