COMING SOON

Emerald Coast Autism Center breaks ground on second facility, “Emerald Coast Learning Center”

On June 8, 2022, starting at 5pm, the Emerald Coast Autism Center will host a public Groundbreaking Event for Emerald Coast Learning Center, a new building located directly next to Emerald Coast Autism Center on the campus of Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida.

• This second facility will provide a safe and structured learning environment for the nonprofit’s Transition to Work program and its academic classrooms.

The new building plans include a 20,000-square-foot building connected to the current facility on the Niceville campus of Northwest Florida State College. This new building will host the Transition to Work program, a pre-vocational program through the Florida Department of Education in partnership with Northwest Florida State College designed to teach older students job skills for future employment. 

Northwest Florida State College partnered with the nonprofit and the generous support of Destin Charity Wine Auction Foundation. Additionally, the new building will expand the nonprofit’s academic classrooms.

“We are so excited for this next phase of Emerald Coast Learning Center,” said Heidi Blalock, the CEO of the Emerald Coast Autism Center. “The new building will help us grow with our students and their families by providing a space designed specifically to meet the needs of our vocational and academic students.”

The Emerald Coast Learning Center has grown from five students to 80 full and part-time students since their inception in 2009. The Center will offer specialized facilities for vocational training including:

• A commercial kitchen
• A laundry facility
• Light It Up Brew (the organization’s student-run coffee shop)
• A car wash
• and so much more. 

Transition to Work students will continue practicing job skills in-house before heading out on campus or other community partner job sites. Emerald Coast Learning Center will also house several academic classrooms for students on track to graduate from the Emerald Coast Learning Center and continue with their education at other local public or private schools.

Currently, the students who work on campus work in the following departments:

• Receiving (mail sorting and campus vehicle washing)
• Kay Litke Culinary Arts Greenhouse (planting, harvesting, and maintenance)
• Athletic Facilities (cleaning and organizing facilities)
• and the Mattie Kelly Arts Center (ushering at performances).

PUBLIC SAFETY

Health advisory issued for Henderson State Park, Rocky Bayou State Park and Lincoln Park

The Florida Department of Health in Okaloosa County (DOH-Okaloosa) conducts bi-weekly saltwater beach water quality monitoring at 11 sites through the Healthy Beaches Monitoring Program. Samples are collected from March through the end of October. 

The water samples are analyzed for enteric bacteria (enterococci) that normally inhabit the intestinal tract of humans and animals and which may cause human disease, infections, or rashes.

• The presence of enteric bacteria is an indication of fecal pollution, which may come from stormwater runoff, pets and wildlife, and human sewage. 

On Wednesday, a health advisory was issued for Henderson State Park in Destin, Rocky Bayou State Park in Niceville and Lincoln Park in Valparaiso. The health advisories are based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s recommended standards for enterococci.

“This should be considered a potential health risk to the bathing public,” said the DOH-Okaloosa.

If you have questions, contact the DOH-Okaloosa at (850) 833-9247 or (850) 689-7859.  You can also visit www.HealthyOkaloosa.com and click the “Healthy Beaches” link to be taken to a list of Okaloosa County’s Healthy Beaches sites, sampling results and maps. 

COMING SOON

More apartments at Santa Rosa Mall could soon become a reality. Here’s a look at Phase 2

On Monday, May 16, 2022, the City of Mary Esther’s Local Planning Agency unanimously approved a preliminary development order for a 206-unit apartment complex located on the back side of the Santa Rosa Mall.

• This is the proposed Phase 2 of the Renaissance Santa Rosa Apartment complex.
• Phase 1 was complete last year in the old Belk section of the mall.

On March 25, 2022, Renaissance Mary Esther II, LLC and Rea Ventures Group, LLC submitted an application to the City of Mary Esther to construct the second phase of the Renaissance apartments. 

• The project involves 8.25 acres on the east side of Phase 1, that stretches from Page Bacon Road to Dillards. 

This means that the current section of the Santa Rosa Mall that this project would encompass would be redeveloped in order to accommodate the new apartments. According to the Northwest Florida Daily News, the area that would be redeveloped includes roughly 30 commercial spaces.

According to city documents, the main U-shaped building will be comprised of 197 units while 3 carriage houses will be comprised of 9 units total. 

Additionally, it will have a swimming pool and club house. 

Because the project meets the threshold for a major development, it must have the approval of the City Local Planning Agency (LPA) and City Council. 

Before it reaches the approval step, the Technical Review Committee (TRC) first reviews the preliminary development order submittal for compliance and makes a recommendation to the LPA. 

• Now that it has gotten the needed approval as of Monday night, the LPA’s recommendation will go before the City Council at a second public hearing to determine whether the project should be granted a preliminary development order. 

If a preliminary development order is granted by the City Council, the developers will move forward with 100% design plans and submit the plans to the City in order to obtain a final development order. 

• Once a final development order has been obtained, the developer has 12 months to obtain the necessary construction permits, according to the city.

Fun Fact: The City of Mary Esther’s LPA is made up entirely of city council members.

Technical Aspects

• Project Area: 8.25 acres
• Units: 206
• Buildings: 1 main, 3 carriage houses, 1 clubhouse, 1 swimming pool, 1 accessory
• 58,010 square feet. Main building is 4 stories. Carriage houses are 2 stories.

Currently, Renaissance at Santa Rosa offers 1, 2 and 3 bedroom apartments for rent. Each apartment ranges from 602 ($1,885/mo) to 1,431 square feet ($2,729/mo).

If Phase 2 of the Renaissance Santa Rosa Apartment complex proceeds, permitting revenue to the City from the project is estimated to be $596,162.54. Water/sewer usage revenue is estimated at $179,679.00 annually, with property taxes estimated at $138,000.00 annually.

Looking ahead: The LPA’s recommendation will go before the city council on June 6th for final consideration.

ECONOMIC GROWTH

DeSantis announces $3.2 million to help create 11,000 new jobs in Okaloosa County

On Wednesday, May 18th, 2022, in Crestview, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the State of Florida, through the Governor’s Job Growth Grant fund, would be providing $3.2 million to Okaloosa County for infrastructure improvements to the Shoal River Ranch Giga-site in Crestview.

• These funds will support the installation of road, rail, water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure for businesses at the 10,500 acre ranch off Highway 90.

“This build-out of this industrial site will create unprecedented opportunities in Okaloosa county consisting of as much as 11,000 new jobs,” said DeSantis. “But we believe that this will include 4,000 new jobs in manufacturing with an economic impact of almost $50 million by next decade.”

• Right now there are 2,900 manufacturing jobs in all of Okaloosa county.

“I know the county is working with a lot of companies and I know there’s a number of them that are on the verge of making announcements and signing on the dotted line to come here,” he added. “This commitment to the services at the industrial park is going to be huge because this is going to give them the confidence that they have all the infrastructure they need to be able to be successful.”

DeSantis added that when you have an industrial capacity, there is a lot of capital invested, capital that many businesses won’t want to walk away from.

“You’re there as part of the community and that not only means jobs that can fill now, but it also means as more students graduate, as more people need employment, that this becomes something that people in the community can rely on,” he added. “I think it’s a sturdier way to have a foundation of an economy and I’m really excited that we’re going to do it.” 

DeSantis told the crowd that he knows they will get great cooperation from the Okaloosa County School District and Northwest Florida State College when it comes to technical education. 

• “If there are certain things that are needed, we will make sure we all work together to develop those programs so that our students in Northwest Florida have opportunities to move immediately into gainful employment,” he said.

Why Shoal River Ranch is important

Shoal River Ranch Giga Site is located 7 miles east of Crestview with access to Interstate 10, Highway 90, and the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad which allows companies to have easy access to transportation routes. 

• The 10,500 acre site is projected to make an economic impact of over $47.6 million after infrastructure improvements are made.
• It is a critical infrastructure project that is slated to be a difference maker in Okaloosa County, especially in the north end of the county.

“There’s nothing else this size with this much access to a major interstate in the state of Florida,” said Chairman Mel Ponder. “The site is total modal, meaning it has access to multiple modes of transportation, including interstate connectivity, railway, and airports.”

Ponder added that the “future tenants” will be trained and led by the local education system in Okaloosa County, including those transitioning out of the military.

“They’re technically trained,” he said. “They’re ready for these job opportunities that the Governor just talked about today for this location.”

According to Ponder, Nathan Sparks, Director of the Okaloosa Economic Development Council, has already hosted site visits with 9 companies who have expressed interest in the Shoal River project.

The Job Growth Grant Fund of $3.2 million will be coupled with $1.7 million in matching funds, bringing the total to nearly $5 million that will be spent on this development.

Additionally, the grant award also allow the county to begin working with the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad railway and for FDOT to undertake improvements to Highway 90. According to Ponder, this includes improvements to site’s entrance, the railroad crossing, paving roadways, installing fiber, water and sewer, and utility infrastructure.

What it means for Crestview

“This is such a big opportunity in the north end of the county,” said Jason Autrey, Okaloosa Public Works Director. “This is the largest swath of land on an interstate and it is just ripe for utilizing development. It is a game changer on how we can employ people and get people to work in Okaloosa County.”

Autrey says that as far as construction is concerned, they have already started. 

“They’ve gotten the survey and geotechnical work done,” he added. “We’re hoping to have this thing permitted and ready to be built within six to nine months. So it is happening now.”

“A project that large is going to have such a great economic impact on our city, and we’re constantly expanding here anyway,” said Crestview Mayor JB Whitten. “It’s just a fantastic program and I’m so glad we have a government that supports those kind of programs.”

Mayor Whitten says he is most excited to see the much-needed road improvements leading up to the property.

“Once you get into the property, we have the roads leading up to it but not going inside,” he added. “I think that’ll be a change-maker by just having the roads in there and then bringing the utilities all the way down to the interior.”

• Mayor Whitten says he feels like the residents will be excited not only for the jobs in the north-end of the county, but the potential for less traffic on the road heading to the south-end.