Realty Times - Real Estate News and Advice

Once the province of vacationers and = second-home=20 owners from Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and = elsewhere=20 in the Deep South, the strip of the Florida Gulf = Coast=20 that stretches from Panama City Beach to Destin = and once=20 known as the "Redneck Riviera" is now worthy of = another,=20 if less familiar moniker, the Emerald Coast.=20

Nowadays, you're just as likely to see a = Mercedes as=20 a pickup. Cadillac Escalades and Lexis RX330 = SUVs are as=20 prevalent as spring break jalopies. And they = carry=20 license plates from as far away as Ohio, = Michigan, and=20 New York along with the more readily recognized = southern=20 states. If you close your eyes and listen = carefully, you=20 can even hear German and British accents among = the more=20 familiar Southern Twang.=20

Why, the place even has its share of stars. = Country=20 music icon Alan Jackson recently became the = official=20 endorser of La Borgata, a 14.5-acre property in = Panama=20 Beach within walking distance of the sugar-white = sandy=20 beach. Jackson will own one of the 189 units = planned for=20 the site by Ronnie Gilley Properties, which has = George=20 Jones as its official spokesperson.=20

But again, the Florida Panhandle is now more = than=20 just country. Dallas Cowboy' owner Jerry Jones = has a=20 place here. So do actress Patricia Richardson, = Chef=20 Emeril Lagasse and Hall of Fame Quarterback Bart = Starr.=20 If you look carefully, you might even see = Courtney Cox=20 when she comes to visit her brother, Richard, = who's one=20 of the area's premier pool builders.=20

"It's amazing the amount of wealth that's = coming=20 here," says one long-time realty pro in the = Destin=20 market. "I don't know where that Redneck Riviera = thing=20 started, but that's all changing. We're right on = the=20 edge of going national."=20

Make that international, interjects Ken = Breland,=20 director of sales at Wild Heron, a nearly = 800-acre=20 property owned, in part, by golfer Greg Norman, = who=20 designed the 600-home project's golf course. = "We're=20 beginning to penetrate the European market like = they've=20 done down in Naples," says Breland, who notes = that=20 foreign accents are found among the familiar = drawl at=20 Wild Heron, too. "Our prices here are half what = they are=20 in Southwest Florida, and we're right on the = water."=20

The influx of both national and international = visitors also is likely to be hastened by a = brand new=20 airport on 9,600 acres that have been donated by = the St.=20 Joe Co., perhaps Florida's largest private land = owner.=20 Significant regulatory and funding issues must = still be=20 overcome before the Panama City-Bay County = International=20 Airport can be built. But if it comes to = fruition, as=20 most observers believe it will, it will sit just = north=20 of West Bay, and will be part of a 78,000-acre=20 preservation area that could be used for = wildlife=20 greenways, hunting, fishing, hiking, = bird-watching and=20 nature centers.=20

It is Sandestin that many observers credit = with=20 beginning the transformation from honky-tonk red = to=20 emerald green. And it is the Vancouver, = B.C.-based=20 resort developer, Intrawest ULC, which recently = became a=20 privately held company, that transformed = Sandestin into=20 an all-inclusive, 2,400-acre golf and beach = resort=20 straddling Highway 98 just a few miles east of = Destin.=20

Sandestin was actually started in the = mid-1970s by=20 local developer Peter Bos, who, while blessed = with great=20 vision, had limited resources. And after = finishing much=20 of the property's southern portion between the = highway=20 and the Gulf, his finances gave out. Intrawest,=20 Sandestin's third owner, acquired the resort = from a=20 Malaysian company in 1996. And although the = local,=20 "it-can't-be-done" nay-sayers were certain there = was no=20 market for vacation homes on the northern, much = larger,=20 bay-side portion of the property, Sandestin now = boasts=20 every type of ownership possibility anyone could = ever=20 want -- on both sides of the highway.=20

Intrawest is perhaps more famous for its 15 = mountain=20 resorts, including Whistler in British Columbia, = Tremblant in Quebec, Mammoth and Squaw Valley in = California and Stratton in Vermont. Indeed, = Sandestin=20 was the company's first-ever warm-weather = property. (It=20 now has four.)=20

But by applying the same "placemaking" = principles=20 that proved so successful on the slopes, the = company has=20 proven the negative nabobs wrong.=20

Just as Sandestin has raised the bar in = Destin on the=20 western, Ft. Walton-end of the Emerald Coast, = the Towne=20 of Seahaven is destined to do the same for = Panama City=20 Beach on the eastern end.=20

Located on a 53-acre, largely blank canvas = with more=20 than a quarter of a mile fronting on a beach = that is=20 generally acknowledged as one of the finest in = the=20 world, Seahaven will be a village-centered = community=20 with a core of vibrant shops, restaurants and = nightlife,=20 all surrounded by an assortment of 3,000 upscale = residences.=20

Intrawest has a hand in Seahaven, too. Its = sales and=20 marketing arm, Playground Destination = Properties, will=20 perform those chores for developer Neel Bennett = and his=20 family. But hiring Playground and a host of top=20 planners, architects and designers wasn't the = only smart=20 move the Bennett clan made.=20

Back in 1924, Bennett's grandfather bought = the=20 property for 10 cents an acre as a throw-in as = part of a=20 much larger transaction. At the time, "no one = else=20 wanted the land because you couldn't grow = anything on=20 it," says Neel. So, his grandfather bought it = with the=20 thought of putting up a saw mill.=20

Luckily, those plans fell through. Now the = site is=20 one of the largest undeveloped parcels on the = Emerald=20 Coast. And Neel, whose says his family has "had = a long=20 love affair with the land" here, is getting the=20 "opportunity to do the job my grandfather = started to do=20 in the 1920s."=20

The Towne of Seahaven, with its four distinct = villages, all geared around the central village, = is=20 being billed as the first true destination = resort in the=20 popular Panama City Beach coastal area. A = mini-city, if=20 you will, with 60 entertainment hot spots, = villas,=20 townhouses, hotels, a conference center and its = own in=20 -village transportation system.=20

"When my grandfather bought this land, people = told=20 him he was crazy. Needless to say, we're very = grateful=20 he didn't listen to them," says Neel. "Now we're = going=20 to do something with it that he would be proud = of."=20

The Bennett family also is working with = Playground on=20 another Panama City Beach property called = Sanctuary=20 Beach, which just might be the last piece of = pristine=20 real estate on the Gulf Coast. And the project = proves=20 that at least one local isn't a yokel when it = comes to=20 developing the land in these parts.=20

Now 45, Neel Bennett, born, raised and still = living=20 in Panama City, has been coming to the 43-acre = property=20 that fronts St. Andrews Bay since he was 10. He = learned=20 to swim there. So when he was presented with an=20 opportunity to buy it three years ago, he jumped = at the=20 chance. Especially since the seller was thinking = of=20 "clear-cutting" the entire site.=20

"It's a one-of-a-kind property," Neel says of = Sanctuary Beach, which is graced with = 100-year-old,=20 moss-draped live oaks.=20

"A parcel like this is usually a state park = or a=20 preserve. It's old Florida, the Florida that was = a true,=20 untouched paradise. I bought it from another = developer=20 who was going to take everything down. But I was = convinced this could be something special, that = we could=20 build value by doing things differently."=20

Different, indeed. Besides eight spectacular=20 waterfront lots, the community will feature 275=20 condominiums and 125 single-family houses. A = total of=20 400 units will be built. That's about nine to = the acre=20 when the county would have allowed twice that, = and a=20 density most other developers would have grabbed = at and=20 run.=20

Not Bennett, a fourth-generation local who = has what=20 Playground's Breland says is "a sense of pride = that=20 merchant builders don't have." The national = developers=20 build excellent, quality projects, according to = Breland,=20 who heads sales at Sanctuary as well as Wild = Heron. "But=20 they have no sense of ownership because they = don't live=20 here. Neel is a real steward of his land."=20

And so goes the Emerald Coast. Not only is it = no=20 longer the Redneck Riviera, it's fast becoming = one of=20 North America's ultimate places to play.=20

"A lot of people see what was here," says = Panama City=20 Beach Mayor Lee Sullivan. "But only a few see = what could=20 be here. And now we are witnessing the creation = of=20 something special."=20

Published: December 13, 2006

Use of this article without permission is = a=20 violation of federal copyright laws -- http://www.loc.gov/copyright.

"The Washington=20 Window"
When Lew = Sichelman=20 first started writing about housing in = 1969, he=20 was the youngest real estate writer in the = country. Now, 37 years later, he's one of = the=20 oldest -- and most decorated.=20
He has been rated the top housing = columnist in=20 the country by the National Association of = Realtors as well as by his peers in the = National=20 Association of Real Estate Editors. = Indeed, NAREE=20 has recognized his work on numerous = occasions. One=20 year - due to his advancing age, he can't = recall=20 which one - he earned top honors in the = annual=20 NAREE Journalism Contest in three out of = the four=20 major writing categories. It was the first = time=20 one writer has won so many NAREE awards in = a=20 single year.=20
Known for his ability to make even the = most=20 difficult topics understandable, Sichelman = also=20 has been honored by the National = Association of=20 Home Builders and the Mortgage Bankers=20 Association.=20
He began providing in-depth coverage of = and=20 consumer-oriented information about = housing and=20 housing finance at the Washington Daily = News,=20 where he was real estate editor. He held = that same=20 position for nine more years at the = Washington=20 Star, which purchased the News in 1972.=20
The Star, a so-called "writer's = newspaper"=20 which also had the misfortune of being an = evening=20 paper, was put out of its misery in 1981, = and=20 Sichelman, who had begun self-syndicating = his=20 column in 1978, decided to become a = full-time=20 columnist. Today, his column, "The Housing = Scene,"=20 is distributed by United Media to = newspapers=20 throughout the country.=20
He also is on the staff of National = Mortgage=20 News, an independent newspaper which is = considered=20 the bible of the mortgage business. And he = writes=20 for numerous other publications, including = MarketWatch.com, where he answers readers=20 questions once a week, Sports Illustrated = (don't=20 ask), RealtyTimes.com, BigBuilder and = others.=20
Sichelman is married, the father of = five and=20 grandfather of=20 = eleven.