Some 170,000 homes planned for Bay, Walton counties

BAY COUNTY — Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, a planned active adult community in Bay County, is projected to break ground by the end of the year.

Latitude Margaritaville Watersound will likely include 170,000 homes on about 15 miles of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway connecting West Bay with Choctawhatchee Bay.

The project is all part of St. Joe's 50-year, approximately 110,500-acre project stretching into both Bay and Walton counties. However, the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound project is only in Bay County.

Master developer Minto Communities USA, global lifestyle brand Margaritaville Holdings and St. Joe announced the formation of their joint venture Thursday.

The first phase of the project is anticipated to include about 3,500 homes with a supporting sales center, community amenities and infrastructure for the 55-and-better community. The sales center, model homes and first phase of the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound community will be located west of Highway 79 and north of the intersection with Highway 388 in Bay County.

Latitude Margaritaville Watersound is the third Latitude Margaritaville community to be developed by Minto and the first to be developed in partnership with St. Joe. The first two Latitude Margaritaville communities are in Daytona Beach and Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Jorge Gonzalez, president and CEO of St. Joe, said in a press release that plans for a new marina village and commercial district adjoining Latitiude Margaritaville are under way.

For more information on Latitude Margaritaville and to sign up to receive regular development updates, visit www.LatitudeMargaritaville.com.