Seaside was designed for live/work situations from the standpoint of providing spaces conducive to both uses (i.e. retail or studio space with a living unit above), not a provision for affordable housing for service and labor workers. It was always envisioned as a luxury project, by virtue of its location, amenities, and quality of construction. Until very recently, DeFuniak Springs and other points north of the bridge provided almost ridiculously inexpensive housing options, albeit short on the rentals side. Property in and around DeFuniak has soared in value over the past year, which is inexplicable because there are no high-paying jobs there, nor are there many in the South Walton area. The prices will stabilize, then be paid by people living in more expensive areas and who see the higher prices as a reasonable alternative to retirement housing in the cities where they currently live.
Example: In our town in CA, there is not even a condo in the town that can be had for less than $750K and single-family housing starts at $1M. So even with the higher prices, South Walton (and especially areas other than coastal) seems a bargain. Retirees look for quality of life, reasonable housing prices, proximity to good medical services, recreational opportunities (especially golfing), and often proximity to a military base PX (if they're retired military). Del Webb has made a fortune on this formula throughout the country. But these buyers are obviously unconcerned with jobs. And rarely are they concerned with the availability of a reasonably priced labor pool. The bad news is that they care rarely be counted on to vote approval for needed infrastructure and services, especially the school districts. The good news is that many of them don't vote in South Walton because their primary homes are elsewhere.
Look for your labor pool to drive from distances further and further away as time goes by. Expect your future residents to be primarily absentee and part-time owners. Talk to your elected officials about requiring new development to provide an inclusionary affordable housing product aimed at the lower-income jobs that will be in increasing demand as the area develops. Expect the affordable housing to make a very minor contribution towards housing low-to-moderate income workers, and the affordable units will go into a lottery for pre-qualified buyers. The alternative is a community with little diversity and big traffic problems, no matter how many improvements are made incrementally. This is the ugly underbelly of soaring property values.
