Changes to Seaside Town Center

Beautiful! Even though the palm trees are of a non native species

Wow. Looks amazing. What a great design. Can't wait to see it in October. Thanks as always for the pictures!

Many of the dead palms around South Walton are dead because they are not native. Notice that Palmetto's weren't phased by the cold this winter. While some palms are truly dead, many others simply need to be pruned and the dead fronds removed.

Whether you like palms or not it's spectacular shiny and new. It's nice to see families enjoying the bowl again.

Very Alys Beach looking.

The palms are tacky in my opinion. But they hit a homerun with the fossilized coral facade on the stage and bowl edge. Fascinating to look at. Maybe Kurt got a pic?

I was walking beneath the palms the other day and it struck me how beautiful they really area. Didn't expect to feel that way. Love the look and feel. Somehow the space feels more open and inviting as well as more spacious.

Great shots Kurt!

Great shots Kurt!

Thanks CG!

Amazing how it can go from Lake Seaside to beautiful green space in the span of a week!

Amazing how it can go from Lake Seaside to beautiful green space in the span of a week!

I was thinking the same thing. The engineers must have done a great job on that drainage system. I haven't been there since spring break -- can't wait to see the esplanade.

They used a temporary external pump and a 4" hose. It does not have an internal sump pump.

They used a temporary external pump and a 4" hose. It does not have an internal sump pump.

Where did they pump the water to??

Honestly, where else but Walton County could you put an amphitheater in a retention pond and then pump the pond out after it rains. :roll:

I saw the hose headed west out of the amphitheater, probably to the nearest storm drain. I've seen similar hoses in other bad spots around the area.

It does have a pump at the low point right in front of the stage. It pumps water back up to the drainage system at street level - cisterns, pipes, and gravel. The additional pump and hose was brought in to speed the process.

The bowl collects water that falls in the bowl and that falls on 30A along the airstreams and sidewalks, etc. That can be quite a bit of water but the pump should be able to handle normal rain events. The rain we just had was enormous, as we know.

What I see happening right now is water draining from the drainage system in to the bottom of the bowl. It's leaching out of the soil about 20 feet from the stage. It must be coming from the cisterns, pipes and gravel. Hopefully this won't happen after normal rain events and the water collected will filter straight down instead of into the bowl.

What I see happening right now is water draining from the drainage system in to the bottom of the bowl. It's leaching out of the soil about 20 feet from the stage. It must be coming from the cisterns, pipes and gravel. Hopefully this won't happen after normal rain events and the water collected will filter straight down instead of into the bowl.

I know the water table is normally a lot lower in Seaside than in parts of Seagrove which have a hard pan that slows down the drainage. I would think though that the water table even in Seaside would be higher than normal, and wherever it is, it's being fed from underground drainage 'upstream.' It might be some time before it goes down, if that's the case.

I'm so gratefull from all ya all about info pertaining to the amphitheater. Since I have known most of the people participating in the grand renovation, for many a year, I feel confident it's being done in the best way.

If they have to rig up an ad hoc way to drain the amphitheater, I renege on my previous comment.

EDIT after Lake View Too's comment. What you said makes sense.

I think what Kurt tried to explain was that there is a pump that is designed to handle normal amounts of rainfall, but that, in this particular instance, when the rainfall was, possibly, the heaviest rainfall ever recorded in this area, it needed a supplemental pump.