From Walton Sun
Nature Walk?s entrance preserves wetlands while making a statement to visitors ? ?Our backyard is nature as it?s been for 100 years.?
The 800-foot long wooden pile supported bridge on the entrance road is the longest of its kind in the United States and offers views of Point Washington State Forest that surround the project.
The bridge is the first of many hand-made wooden bridges and walkways that will interconnect the community.
?It provides a calming experience as you enter Nature Walk,? said developer Rick Olson. ?Through design and planning of the project we?ve created the experience of nature. We are hand-clearing each lot in Nature Walk to accentuate the existing natural vegetation and tree canopy.?
The gated community off County Road 395 in South Walton is being developed by Olson Associates of NW Florida Inc. and will have 291 homes and 200 condos on 155 acres.
More than 80 percent of the lots have views of the forest. Shannon Howell, senior vice president with the company, noted 68 acres would be preserved.
This is a master planned community with architectural guidelines that were designed by team of Olson employees and consultants to define Nature Walk. The ?pattern book? is a guide that defines everything in the community to create harmony with the environment, said Olson.
The placement of porches, fences and towers are not only described, each home site has specific plans that are outlined when the customer purchases the site. The pattern book also details the palette of colors, types of lighting and landscaping.
In Nature Walk there are three types of homes: rear-alley loaded cottages on the smallest lots, village homes on mid-size lots and preserve lots that are the largest and are on either a wetland area or the preserve.
Construction of the first residential development, four models that include two condos and two homes, should start in February with completion anticipated in nine months.
Work has also begun on The Gathering Place ? a 10,000 squarefoot clubhouse and the 8,000-square-foot welcome center and sales office.
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Banned
Are you speaking of local government? What "current ...owned real estate.." are you referring to? (NOt state forest I hope:idontno:)
BTW, your idea above about adding to WaterColor is an interesting one Perhaps then, WC would not further develop the land just south of 98....
I think State governments should focus on a short list of priorities before broadening their intentions. Public Safety (Police, Fire, Emergency Services)
Education alternatives, Transportation, Courts. Not much else.
I didn't know JOE was expanding Watercolor North of 98.?.?. Thanks for the info.
SoWal Expert
Thanks TreeFrog. Yes, ALL of NatureWalk is for sale as one piece, though I'd bet that they would split off the Seagrove Villas if you wanted to buy it.
aabsolute, I don't think any lots ever closed in NatureWalk. Franny's post was from a while ago.
If no one buys NatureWalk, it may soon be taken over by nature. It would make a great location for a large public park of some kind.
Yes it would.
Beach Fanatic
Yes it would.
Agreed. Here are a few reasons...
1-395 is near the East/West center of 30A, and SoWal in general, and easily accessible via 30A or 98 from all of Sowal.
2-The land is roughly bordered on the north, east, and west by the State Forest and wouldn't be ringed by houses with owners unhappy to be neighbors to a park.
3-The time will eventually come when WalCo is simply unable to supply public amenities like parks, either because the land is literally all cut up into developments, or because the county won't be able to afford to acquire it. Warren Buffet is buying now because of extraordinary opportunity. Maybe WalCo should follow his lead.
4-Not that it matters to everyone, but blunting the development of NatureWalk will effectively preclude the extraordinary demands that the planned beach club would have had on traffic, parking, and beach crowding at the Seagrove Villas site.
Naysayers will decry the loss of potential property tax base. I accept that, but even in my short time in SoWal I've seen the signs of a long-term evolution from a purely vacation-based community to one supporting a growing permanent population - which needs doctors, car washes, schools, churches, post offices, grocery stores, and yes, parks.
Beach Fanatic
I think State governments should focus on a short list of priorities before broadening their intentions. Public Safety (Police, Fire, Emergency Services)
Education alternatives, Transportation, Courts. Not much else.
I didn't know JOE was expanding Watercolor North of 98.?.?. Thanks for the info.
I didn't write that JOE was expanding north of 98...read my post again😀
Banned
I didn't write that JOE was expanding north of 98...read my post again😀
I let my directional dyslexia get the better of me again. Sorry.
Which area are you talking about? Is it close to the 395/98 light?
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