Not even a light drizzle of rain could dampen the spirits of those gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony the morning of July 7 for the Tarpon Beach Gulf Front Park.
Gathered under tents, more than 50 people from the city and county came out for the joint venture, which will open 340 feet of public beach access at 3310 Scenic Highway 98.
“It’s going to be tremendous to have more beachfront, for the public to use, and for us to use and for the visitors,” said Okaloosa County Board of Commissioners Chair Paul Mixon.
“I’d like to thank the city of Destin for the way we are partnering together and coming into several new ventures over the last few years, to be able to see more people have more access to the beautiful coastline that we are blessed to have,” Mixon said.
The new beachfront park not only will open up beach access, but there will be free parking with 49 standard spaces, three ADA accessible spaces, and 29-low speed vehicle spaces. Also featured: bathrooms, four pavilions and an open view of the Gulf.
“We are very excited for this groundbreaking. This is all about reclaiming the beaches for the residence and for the tourists,” said Destin Mayor Bobby Wagner.
Wagner then echoed Okaloosa County Chair Mixon: “This is a wonderful partnership. We could not do it without the other.
“I’m excited that we are finally at this finish line to start the amenities of the beach,” Wagner said.
The beach access at Tarpon is already open.
“Hopefully, very soon we are going to have wonderful amenities … and really everything that makes this place beautiful will be preserved for not just this generation, but generations to come,” Wagner said.
The Tarpon Beach Gulf Front Park project is Phase II of a dedicated effort by the city of Destin and Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners to use tourism revenue and expand public beach access for residents and visitors. The total investment is $26.5 million, shared between the city and county, as previously reported.
Phase I includes expanded public beach access at nearby Crystal Beach, with a total project cost of $9.75 million. The total project cost for the Phase II Tarpon Beach Gulf Front Park project is $16.75 million.
Trust for Public Land was the lead agency that helped negotiate the purchase of the properties for both Crystal Beach and Tarpon Beach projects.
“This is such an incredible journey to get to something like this,” said Okaloosa County Commissioner Drew Palmer, who represents District 5.
“I’ve been working on this since November, and we finally got here,” he said.
However, Palmer said, “I would be remiss if I didn’t give credit to Commissioner Mel Ponder and those that came before us and set the stage for the stuff we get to do today.”
“One of the reasons why I’m doing what I’m doing is to extend public beach access. So, I get to stand on the shoulders of giants today, those who came before, those who saw the vision, and know what it takes, and how long a process it is,” Palmer said.
In the past, Palmer said, he was just somebody “watching from sidelines” but now he “gets to participate as part of the solution.”
“Thanks for being here. Hope everyone enjoys the beach,” Palmer said.
At that point, city and county officials grabbed gold shovels and tossed up some dirt on the soon-to-be-new Tarpon Beach Gulf Park.
This article originally appeared on The Destin Log: Tarpon Beach Gulf Front Park to open up beach access
Reporting by Tina Harbuck, The Destin Log / The Destin Log
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
