Minto Communities USA (“Minto”) and The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) (“St. Joe”) announce that Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, located on Northwest Florida’s Emerald Coast, sold its 1,000th home in December 2022. In addition, homeowners soon will enjoy the four pillars of Latitude Margaritaville — fun, food, music and escapism — to the fullest with the grand opening of the Latitude Town Center this spring. Latitude Margaritaville Watersound opened to a resounding response from home buyers in May 2021, and reached the 1,000th home sale just 19 months later.
Dorothy Scattone from Jackson, Mississippi, was quite surprised to learn she had just become the 1,000th home buyer at the popular community. “I’ve always dreamed of living in a beach town,” she notes. “Here was the opportunity to stop dreaming about being a local and actually become one. The timing was right. It was now or never! I chose now.”
The initial phase of the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound Town Center resort-style amenities will include a colorful Town Square that features a multi-tiered amphitheater, thatched roof bandshell, full-size concert stage, jumbo screen for concerts and movies and special area designed for dancing. Dining and refreshment choices will include a two-story Bar & Chill restaurant and rooftop Overlook Bar with panoramic views of the Intracoastal Waterway as well as a Changes in Attitude Bar with views of the lagoon-style Paradise Pool. A state-of-the-art Fins Up! Fitness Center will include an indoor pool and spa. Additional amenities will include tennis and pickleball courts with lighting for night play and the Barkaritaville Dog Park. Future planned amenities include a Workin’ N’ Playin’ Center, Last Mango Theater, Hangar Workshop and Barkaritaville Pet Spa.
In addition to the many Latitude Margaritaville Watersound amenities, St. Joe has plans for a future full-service public marina and commercial village adjacent to the community. St. Joe also has plans to develop a health care campus just minutes from Latitude Margaritaville Watersound with Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare, Inc. and Florida State University College of Medicine (FSU). The proposed healthcare campus is planned for the 87-acre parcel near the intersection of State Highway 79 and Phillip Griffitts Sr. Parkway where ground has already been broken on the first medical office building. In addition to a planned 100-bed inpatient facility, FSU intends to utilize the campus for research focused on successful aging and senior living technology.
Latitude Margaritaville Watersound is located between Pensacola and Panama City, near Panama City Beach. It is situated in the heart of St. Joe’s vast Bay-Walton Sector Plan that encompasses approximately 110,500 acres with approximately 15 miles of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway. Just a short drive from the famed Scenic Highway 30-A corridor with its beautiful white-sand beaches, this region is the embodiment of the relaxed, beachy vibe that is at the heart of the Latitude Margaritaville lifestyle. The community’s initial phase is anticipated to include approximately 3,500 homes.
Latitude Margaritaville Watersound is being developed in a dynamic partnership that includes master developer Minto, global lifestyle brand Margaritaville Holdings, and St. Joe. It is the first of the popular communities to be developed in partnership with St. Joe. The other two Latitude Margaritaville communities are located in Daytona Beach, Florida and near Hilton Head, South Carolina.
Latitude Margaritaville’s all-new approach to active adult living has captured the imagination of today’s vibrant and active 55-and-better home buyers. More than 550,000 are registered as Latitude Margaritaville Paradise Club members to receive ongoing information on the communities. Currently there are just under 400 homes completed with nearly 700 at some stage of design or construction.
“Reaching the 1,000th sale milestone is a great moment for this community,” said Jorge Gonzalez, President and CEO of St. Joe. “The immense demand for new homes in the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound community speaks not only to the quality of the homes and abundance of amenities that residents can enjoy, but also to the appeal of the quality of life in Northwest Florida. More home buyers from more parts of the country are discovering this region, and the 1,000th home sale in the Latitude Margaritaville Watersound community is evidence of that.”
The Latitude Margaritaville Watersound sales center and 13 model homes are open daily. Four distinct home collections, the Conch Cottage Collection, Caribbean Villas Collection, and Beach and Island Collections of single-family homes, capture the “no worries” tropical vibe that defines Latitude Margaritaville communities. Floor plans range from 1,204 to 2,568 square feet under air with pricing from the low $300s.
The Latitude Margaritaville Watersound sales center is located at 9201 Highway 79, Panama City Beach, Florida. Open daily, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central time. For information, call 866-524-0144.
