On Tuesday, September 27, 2022, the Fort Walton Beach City Council will hear a proposal from Props Brewery about relocating from their current location next to the Brooks Bridge, to the concrete slab that was once the home of the Emerald Coast Science Center at the Fort Walton Beach Landing Park.

• Tuesday night’s city council meeting begins at 6pm at Council Chambers.

The City of Fort Walton Beach currently owns the property located at 139 Brooks Street SE. The property is currently vacant with a concrete slab remaining and serves as a parking area for golf carts in the Downtown area.

The existing square footage of the existing concrete slab is approximately 6,000 square feet, according to city documents. This property was originally slated to provide 18 additional parking spots once The Landing is complete, per the city back in 2019.

As part of FDOT’s Brooks Bridge Replacement project, numerous parcels, businesses and buildings were acquired by FDOT as part of the right-of-way acquisition phase of the bridge project.

• The City has donated ten parcels to FDOT as part of the Brooks Bridge project.

Props Brewery has been affected by the upcoming Brooks Bridge project due to their location within the Paradise Pointe shopping center and proximity to the bridge. FDOT’s demolition contractor recently removed a front portion of the unit occupied by Props.

According to the City of Fort Walton Beach agenda document, Props will be required to relocate their business within 12-14 months due to the Brooks Bridge project.

Originally started in Downtown Fort Walton Beach, the owners of Props would like to remain in the downtown footprint. The document notes that “Props has been looking at various properties within the Downtown FWB area but have been unable to purchase or lease any property that fits within the required relocation timeline for the bridge project.

The owners of Props Brewery approached the City and Realty House (city’s real estate broker) about leasing the space at 139 Brooks Street SE for a new Props Brewery location, as stated in the agenda item. Realty House negotiated a Ground Lease Proposal with the brewery for the existing 6,000 square feet concrete slab area with the following lease terms:

• Lease Term = 40 Years
• Lease Rate = $1,750.00 per month plus Florida State Sales Tax (To commence six (6) months after lease execution)
• Lease Rate Increases = 12% Increase Every Five (5) Years
• Proposed Use = Construction of an approximately 6,000 SF tap room / restaurant

According to city documents, Realty House did obtain an appraisal on the property to determine the market rate for the proposed ground lease.

• The appraised value of the property is $150,000.
• The proposed lease rate values the property at approximately $350,000.

As for the status on the Landing Improvements project, the city requested bids a couple of month ago with bids due on September 8, 2022. However, of the 26 contractors who received the bid package, no bid proposals were received. According to the city, Avcon, Inc. will reissue the bid packages as soon as possible once they determine the reasons why no bids were received.

Back in May, the city received the final, fully executed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permit to move forward with the The Landing Park renovations. Since August 2017, the city has been working with Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to permit the Landing Improvement Project. 

• The USACOE permit has been held up in historical review by the State of Florida due to the presence of historical artifacts in the area of the proposed improvements.