Northwest Florida Realtor

Does everyone know their text address mine is 8507581236@txt.att.net

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

Grant Funds up to $50,000 per Project

Now Available for Developers Committed to Providing Green* Affordable Housing

Applications must be received online by April 11 

Awards are expected to be made by the last week of June

Grant guidelines and application available at www.greencommunitiesonline.org

*Please note that Enterprise and its partners have updated the Green Communities Criteria.  Before starting the application please make sure to request the new Criteria at: http://www.greencommunitiesonline.org/tools/criteria/request.asp

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

Mossy Head is a peaceful, sleepy community nestled on high ground in Northwest Walton County. What makes this area so attractive for economic development? Several factors are involved, including but not limited to:

easy Interstate 10 access, railroad facilities, proximity to Eglin Air Force Base, reasonable housing costs, Walton County Industrial Park, Blackstone Development of Regional Impact (DRI), newschool and $200,000 grant for a community park .The area knows it is about to experience a tremendous growth spurt and long-time pillars ofthe community want to make sure that proper planning procedures are in place to ensure 'smartgrowth' so they can maintain the rural county atmosphere while at the same time becoming an economic force in the county.

The Walton County Industrial Park, which encompasses approximately 333 acres, has been in the planning stages for many years. A master plan for the project was submitted on behalf of the Walton County Board of Commissioners to the Planning and Development Services Department in July 2006. The plan calls for 40%manufacturing, 40% warehouse and 20% of office space. Creating a master plan will encourage businesses to move into the park because it will facilitate obtaining a development order, which in turn means being able to start-up more quickly and begin the process of hiring new employees. The park is also part of an enterprise zone which provides incentives for businesses to locate there.

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

Mossy Head is a peaceful, sleepy community

Also in the future of Mossy Head is the

Blackstone Development, a 1,300 acre major

project that will provide a balanced mix of residences,

shops, services, civic building and recreational

facilities. There will be approximately

3,300 dwellings (2,200 single-family and 1,100

multi-family units), 140,00 square feet of retail

and service, 37,500 square feet of office space,

day care and an 18 hole golf course. Phase I may

begin as early as 2006 with an anticipated buildout

date of 2015-2020.

The size of these developments will call for

infrastructure needs, most importantly water and

sewer. Tom Terrell, President of Mossy Head

Waterworks, is working closely with the Walton

County Board of Commissioners to explore

options to provide the necessary services. District

3 Commissioner Larry Jones, who represents the

area, agrees that there is going to be a pressing

need in the not-so distant future. Details, costs

and a timeframe are still being looked at, but

Jones wants the county to move quickly so that

sewer service is available at the industrial park by

the time the new school opens.

The Mossy Head Elementary School, to be

located on a 20 acre site was donated from the

Board of County Commissioners to the School

Board, is anticipated to be open for the 2008

school year. The School Board is actively looking

for locations to build a Junior and High School.

Commissioner Larry Jones has worked hard

to obtain a grant for a community park and the

efforts paid off when Walton County was awarded

a grant in the amount of $200,000 from DEP

through the Florida Recreation Development

Assistance Program (FRDAP). The park site is

located at 13170 US Highway 90, just behind the

Mossy Head EMS Station. Walton received a

waiver of any matching requirements through the

REDI (Rural Economic Development Initiative).

The park will have a pavilion, playground with

splash pad, swing sets, an exercise trail, picnic

facilities, benches, restrooms, fencing, and parking

area.

Welcome to the future Mossy Head!

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

Defuniak Springs · Freeport • Paxton • Grayton Beach • Sandestin                                                                                Santa Rosa Beach • Seaside

©2008  Walton County Economic Development Council

Community Information

Local Governments

The WCEDC

The Walton County Economic Development Council is a non-profit organization dedicated to the economic growth of Walton County, Florida. Let us show you how Walton County's strategic location and business climate can be the ideal solution for your company.

If you are interested in starting, relocating, or expanding your business in Walton County, you are in the right place for the most comprehensive information available critical to the site selection process. The Walton County Economic Development Council can help make your site selection easier.

Doing Business In Walton County

·Available commercial and industrial real estate          ·Workforce education / training          ·Major employers          ·Labor market data

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

FORT WALTON BEACH - Although its corporate office still will not confirm it, Kohl's is coming.

The Okaloosa County Commission unanimously approved site plans for a new Kohl's department store to be located near the intersection of Beal Parkway and Hurlburt Road in Fort Walton Beach.

With Tuesday's approval, construction is expected to start early next month, said John Kramp, site development manager for Kohl's. He said they hope to have the store open by the end of the year.

"It's going to be a fairly long road (before the store opens)," Kramp said. "The timetable is up in the air."

The first phase will be the demolition of the Bay Furniture building.

The new 103,990-square-foot department store will replace the old Bay Furniture next to Winn-Dixie.

The only question commissioners had about the project before its approval was about its storm-water retention. Storm-water guidelines are stricter now than when the furniture store was built, and Kohl's will have to upgrade the retention ponds.

The Daily News contacted Kohl's corporate office Tuesday afternoon for additional information on the new store. Despite its impending approval, Kohl's would not confirm the store.

"At this time, we've not announced any plans to open a new store in the Fort Walton Beach community," Kohl's spokeswoman Courtney K. Rogaczewski responded in an e-mail. "Kohl's has an ongoing real estate assessment process. At any given time, Kohl's is reviewing sites in communities nationwide. We do not comment on real estate speculation. When we have firm details, we are happy to share it at that time."

That is the same response Rogaczewski sent to the Daily News last month.

Article by

Dusty Ricketts

 

 

I was really happy to see this I would always find myself going to the Kohls in Ohio for this and that and its about time we got one of these.

 

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

Press release came across my mailbox today.

Who do you turn to for economic security along the Emerald Coast when the bottom drops from the real estate market?

The military.

A study released by Enterprise Florida concluded that military spending remains one of the state's leading growth industries.

DOCUMENTS:
Read the entire Florida Defense Factbook
Read the economic impact analysis: Volume 1 , Volume 2 and Volume 3

It's particularly valuable to Northwest Florida, where defense-related spending accounts for 35 percent of gross regional product.

According to the "Florida Defense Industry Economic Impact Analysis" completed by the University of West Florida's Haas Center for Business Research and Economic Development, between Oct. 1, 2004, and Sept. 30, 2005, in Okaloosa County:

l Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field generated $2.2 billion in defense spending.

l Countywide, the economic impact of the military was $6.6 billion.

l The average annual earnings per military job is approximately $81,300, or 199 percent more than the area's other jobs in industries such as farming, retail and construction.

The air bases are "incredibly important for all the obvious reasons," said Jim Breitenfeld of the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council. "The high wages. The total spending."

Though the report attributes 73 percent of economic activity in Okaloosa to defense-related spending, Breitenfeld said he wasn't alarmed because the bases are stable employers.

"I don't know if we're dependent (on the military), but it would be a heck of a withdrawal if it disappears tomorrow," he said.

Breitenfeld would like to see Northwest Florida diversify economically in areas where it has competitive advantage such as aviation and high-technology information processing.

In Santa Rosa County, Naval Air Station Whiting Field contributed some $857 million to the economy. Its average annual military wage in fiscal year 2005 was $99,800.

Overall, the military presence in Florida promises only to grow, the Haas report continued. By 2010, military spending statewide might have an impact of $59.5 billion, which would be $7.5 billion more than in 2005.

"While Florida's economy has faced challenges during the past few quarters, particularly in areas hardest hit by the real estate slowdown, high-wage, defense-related jobs are somewhat immune to downturns in the business cycle," said Enterprise Florida president John Adams in a news release.

"They provide strength in Florida's economy even in difficult times."

Daily News Staff Writer Mladen Rudman

 

 

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

EGLIN AFB - Local home builders and property managers facing economic slumps have a chance to reverse their fortunes.

Air Force officials are hosting a housing privatization industry forum at Hurlburt Field Soundside Club later this month.

The forum will give businesses interested in building or managing some 1,300 housing units on Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt a chance to learn about privatization. Tours of base housing areas will be included.

A tour of the housing area at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., is scheduled for Feb. 28.

Eglin, Hurlburt and Edwards have bundled their housing privatization initiatives to pool scarce dollars.

"It makes better financial sense," said Kathy Lawhon, Eglin's housing flight chief.

After a couple of fits and starts, the local privatization effort has regained momentum.

It imagines mostly private funds being used to build homes in exchange for the Air Force letting the selected developer manage and collect rents for 50 years.

The project has been scaled back; hundreds fewer units will be built than initially imagined.

All of the construction will be on Air Force land, but the site or sites hasn't been selected yet. That decision will be made after an environmental impact statement (EIS) has been completed.

A draft of the EIS should be released in the next few months. Sites in the running are on the bases and off the bases. Plans call for a request for proposals to be issued before the industry forum.

Eglin environmental spokesman Mike Spaits said the housing program is open to any bidder, small or large, that meets qualifications.

"This is an opportunity for our local businesses to network and try to get involved in the project," he added.

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

The $52 billion in economic benefits the military and defense industries provide in Florida face two major threats: development encroachment on bases and the loss of healthy habitats for native species throughout the state. To address these threats and grow the economic strength of the military, bases must be protected by acquiring conservation lands important to the military, The Nature Conservancy said today in response to a study released Feb. 1 that shows an $8 billion increase in military economic benefits over the past two years - or the equivalent of 9 percent per year.

An invigorated Florida Forever program combined with federal dollars allocated for base buffering will help protect Florida bases from future realignments or closures, according to the Conservancy and officials from the Florida Defense Alliance, an organization created within Enterprise Florida in 1998 to ensure that Florida, its military bases and its military host communities are improving base efficiencies.

"Our Florida military have been skillful managers of the wildlife and habitats on their properties allowing a multitude of plant and animal species to thrive alongside testing and training operations," said Jeff Danter, Florida director of The Nature Conservancy. "We are constantly looking to enhance the value of these sites by acquiring the important buffers and habitat connectors to these bases."

For example, The Nature Conservancy and the state recently acquired 11,313 acres of the long-sought Yellow River Ravines Florida Forever project, which links outstanding natural areas in Eglin Air Force Base (AFB) with those in Blackwater River State Forest. The Florida Division of Forestry will manage the Yellow River lands as part of the Blackwater River State Forest. The protected area will continue to provide critical habitat for black bears and other rare species.

"Our once-remote bases face increasing urban sprawl that restricts training and testing. Protecting adjacent conservation lands is an excellent solution and fortunately one that is still available in Florida. The Department of Defense recognizes and appreciates the need to work with partners such as Florida's highly successful Florida Forever program to share these costs," said Alex Beehler, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environment, Safety and Occupational Health.

A 2007 RAND Corporation report commissioned by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and using Eglin AFB for an in-depth study of base protection needs, concluded that the base buffer program was effective in guarding against such restrictions. The RAND report warned that there was a narrow window of opportunity to address these concerns, and called for sharply increased funding to be made available for base buffering partnerships.

"The United States Navy, and in particular Navy Region Southeast, has benefited greatly from the Florida Forever program in preserving biodiversity and in limiting incompatible growth adversely impacting Florida's Naval Bases," said Rear Admiral MikeVitale, Commander Navy Region Southeast.

"The United States Navy committed $5.03 million for land acquisition that requires cost sharing from sources such as the Florida Forever program; without funding from such sources, the federal funding may be lost," Admiral Vitale said. "Navy Region Southeast believes it is vital that we preserve our ability to work together to ensure that we can continue our successful and important conservation and encroachment-prevention partnership."

"Lights from development hinder night-vision training, some flight operations can create noise complaints, and housing near drop zones interferes with parachute training. To maintain our military readiness we need to protect our military installations and critical airspace. We greatly appreciate Florida Forever projects designed to link conservation lands and provide natural buffers against incompatible development that would adversely impact Florida's many military installations," said Robert Arnold, chairman, Mission Enhancement Committee, Eglin AFB.

"The cost of not buffering is that the both the military and the ecological value of Florida's bases could be seriously compromised. The bases are a vital resource for the military, Florida's economy and for wildlife, and we all need to work together to protect these tremendous assets to our nation and our state" said Deborah Keller, The Nature Conservancy's Senior Policy Representative for Department of Defense Conservation Partnerships

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.

Airmen bring romance and roses to Air Force Enlisted Village

by Jodi L. Jordan
Air Force Enlisted Village

2/14/2008 - SHALIMAR, Fla. (AFPN) -- The champagne fountain gurgled and the dress uniform buttons gleamed in the candlelight at a very special Valentine's Day event Feb. 9.  Airmen from nearby Eglin Air Force Base and Hurlburt Field were visiting the Air Force Enlisted Village to honor and escort the residents of Hawthorn House, the AFEV's assisted living residence, at their Valentine's Day Ball.

The Air Force Enlisted Village, one of the four official charities of the Air Force, provides a home to the surviving spouses of enlisted Airmen. Most of the residents there are widows in their seventies, and for some of them, Valentine's Day can be a particularly sad holiday.

"Our ladies loved their husbands so much," said Jennifer Carron, Hawthorn House administrator. "They often stop me in the halls to tell me stories about how their husbands would get dressed up in their uniforms and take them out dancing. Those dates are some of their most precious memories, and now they don't have that type of event to look forward to, so we wanted to give them an event like that here."

Staff from Hawthorn House contacted senior NCO's at Eglin and Hurlburt and asked them to put the call out for volunteers to attend a Valentine's Day Ball at Hawthorn House. The requirements were simple: wear your service dress uniform or mess dress and be ready to dance and have a great time. More than thirty Airmen answered the call, and "An Evening of Romance and Roses" was off and running.

For Monique Fouts, a resident at Hawthorn House, the ball and the Airmen's participation helped her get through a very tough day. 

"Today is the anniversary of my husband's death," Mrs. Fouts said at the event. "I was feeling very bad today, but I'm so glad I came tonight. The volunteers are so sweet. It's made me feel better."

One of the Airmen attending the ball was Master Sgt. Brian Carron, an instructor at the 342nd Training Squadron at Hurlburt Field. 

"This event was a great way to link our military today to these spouses, and for us to hear about their experiences," Sergeant Carron said. "We wanted to give them a chance to reminisce and to let them know they're not forgotten."

The Valentine's Day Ball was just one more example of the great support today's Airmen give the AFEV, said retired Chief Master Sgt. James C. Binnicker, AFEV president and CEO . 

"I can't say enough about the way Eglin and Hurlburt Field Airmen always support us. They are out here volunteering their off-duty time every week, my hat's off to them," he said. 

Chief Binnicker also was the 9th Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force.

For more information, visit the Air Force Enlisted Village Web site or call 1-800-258-1413.

Florida Real Estate with Brandon Jordan, your Northwest Florida Realtor and ActiveRain featured Realtor for Okaloosa County since 2007. We provide this information and much more on our site for you at no charge, so please remember us when you're looking to buy or sell real estate.