i'm responding to all these great answers....so forgive if it's hard to tell which one!
in fact, there are state laws that require dri's (developments of regional impact) to contribute to affordable housing and infrastructure. there are 22 such developments in walton county and none of them have been required to comply to state laws by our county government.
of course, you would think that having just built the village, it would still be there in a year. if it is, it will not have the same quality of retail tenants (think t-shirt shops and tattoo parlors). rampant underage drinking and alcohol served to minors (which has caused the sherriff to deny any requests for security on the property) and sandestin's marketing $99 rooms to "budget traveler" and low-end conferences is destroying tenants' revenue potential. sorry, the folks that sandestin markets to do not have much of a discretionary income. they could definitely market their property higher end, but they would have to know how and have to work harder. of course, it sounds like common sense to you and me that they should know enough about marketing to sustain their developments and cross-promote, but they aren't that bright! in fact, they will soon be destroying one of the few amenities left at sandestin, the tennis courts, to make way for another high rise. baytowne golf course is on its way out as well. none of these developments has broken ground yet nor were they approved until AFTER the bust, and they are STILL moving forward.
in fact, as a 20 year marketing veteran, when i ask local developers about their demographics, the truth is, they've paid for expensive marketing analysis and ignore it. they know all about what sells and what will make them the most money. but many times it's about ego and emotion for them. also personal pecadillos. i can't tell you how many times i've heard that developers don't want "ethnic types" as customers. offensive, but they're too dumb and arrogant to even know how to pretend! as any consumer marketing professional knows. old white guys don't make you cash, especially when it comes to housing and family vacations!
my research shows that sandestin homeowners are comprised of 3 of the top high-worth demographics in the nation. most brands would KILL for the opportunity to speak to this audience. instead they're just bullied and abused by shortsighted intrawest and sandestin employees. seriously, you really have to WORK HARD to fail at making sandestin a great resort. and that's what's happening.