Grand Boulevard update

[SoWalSally]

From Walton Sun

The culmination of Keith Howard?s vision for a town center moved a step closer as two Marriott hotels at Grand Boulevard at Sandestin neared completion. The Courtyard Sandestin at Grand Boulevard and Residence Inn Sandestin at Grand Boulevard will bring a new presence to this area, Howard said. They will be the first Marriott hotels between Panama City and Pensacola, but not the last as Howard has the option to build six more hotels in the area.
?These limited-service hotels offer a great value,? Howard said. ?They are affordable.?
Howard has tapped a new market here, said Residence Inn manager Stacy Aronson, ?We have $70,000 in pre-bookings for the two properties.?
?The market has segmented,? he said. ?We are trying to capture this segment.
?Not everybody can afford a condo on the beach,? Howard said. ?A family of four could stay at one of these hotels for literally one third the cost of staying on the beach.?
Plus, many condos book a year out, he said. With the hotels, visitors can plan a different kind of vacation, a spur-of-themoment weekend excursion.
?They can visit area shopping, stay at one of our hotels and eat at our local restaurants,? Howard said.
The hotels have a central location on U.S. Highway 98.
Guests will have access to the amenities Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort offers including golf, tennis, bike rentals, water sports and tram service. Howard envisions visitors to the hotels hopping on the tram to visit the shops and restaurants at the Village at Baytowne Wharf, the Markets at Sandestin, the Publix at Grand Boule- vard and Silver Sands Factory Stores.
The hotels, which are expected to open in February, are the second phase of the $500 million, 52-acre shopping and entertainment development that Howard sees as the fullblown town center Walton County does not have.
?The town center will be an urban-type setting in a resort environment,? he said. ?It will have the convenience of an open-air center with different components.?
Howard said an old concept would be utilized at Grand Boulevard, livework buildings.
?Folks can walk to work, and stop off at the cafes for coffee or lunch,? he said.
The final phase of the town center will include more than 100 retail stores, several restaurants and cafes, medical facilities, a theater and office space. Grand Boulevard, the thoroughfare that will extend from the Courtyard hotel to Mack Bayou Road will be completed in 2007.
Howard said traffic engineers estimate that at build out, the road will move about 6,000 cars off U.S. Highway 98.
But he will add some vehicles on 98 as Howard looks to bring visitors from Pensacola and Panama City to stay and shop at Grand Boulevard.
?The traffic is a regional problem, Howard said. ?They are going to come anyhow. We plan to offer what they want.?

 

[SoWalSally]

Topping out party signals achievement for Marriott

While McMurry Construction Company?s construction superintendent Scott Looney watched over ceremonies in the lobby of the Marriott Courtyard to celebrate the topping out on Dec. 1, his cell phone never stopped ringing.
Looney is supervising two Marriott hotels, Courtyard Sandestin at Grand Boulevard and Residence Inn Sandestin at Grand Boulevard, which are an integral part of phase two of the Howard Group?s $500 million Grand Boulevard at Sandestin ?lifestyle? town center.
It is Looney?s sixth and seventh hotel construction projects as a superintendent for McMurry, and the first time Marriott has opened two properties simultaneously.
Working on the two projects has kept Looney on his toes.
?We had a late topping out party because we?ve been so pressed. We?ve been so busy. There was no time to do it,? Looney said.
The topping out party, signified by evergreen trees hoisted to the roofs of both hotels, typically indicates workers have completed the highest point in a project. It?s also traditional for the construction crews and managers to gather for a meal to celebrate the success of the job.
Even with hurricanes and material shortages, ?thanks to hard-working crews,? Looney said he has managed to keep both projects going.
?We were supposed to bring both projects along at the same time, but sometimes you get done in one place first and that?s what?s happening here. Once you get inside, things really get rolling,? Looney said. ?The Residence Inn will be ready to open first.?
The Residence Inn has studio, one- and two-bedroom suites and is designed for longer stays. Each of the 120 suites has kitchen facilities, and several units have a fireplace.
The five-story 174-suites Courtyard follows a new design concept with details that will appeal to either the business traveler or vacationing family. Features include a pantrystyle grab and go food and beverage center, a lounge area where guests can work or entertain in a relaxing setting and a business library with highspeed Internet access.
?We will give them the buildings as they are completed,? Looney said. And though the Residence Inn is slightly ahead of the Courtyard, managers plan to open both hotels at the same time next February.

 

[SHELLY]

"Howard said an old concept would be utilized at Grand Boulevard, livework buildings.
?Folks can walk to work, and stop off at the cafes for coffee or lunch,? he said. "


Does the "old concept" mean that the "livework buildings" are the barracks where the workers sleep?

 

[Kurt]

"Howard said an old concept would be utilized at Grand Boulevard, livework buildings.
?Folks can walk to work, and stop off at the cafes for coffee or lunch,? he said. "


Does the "old concept" mean that the "livework buildings" are the barracks where the workers sleep?

The live work concept of new urbanism follows the old urbanism concept of living near where you work. It's actually living spaces over commercial spaces like you'll find in many city centers.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I think that Shelly is alluding to the fact that the owners of the stores below will also own the units above, though they will probably not run the store. Still need those employees to work. What they should do is make one and two bedroom apartments upstairs above the work spaces. but that would take too much work.

 

[SHELLY]

I think that Shelly is alluding to the fact that the owners of the stores below will also own the units above, though they will probably not run the store. Still need those employees to work. What they should do is make one and two bedroom apartments upstairs above the work spaces. but that would take too much work.

The developers couldn't care less about how their developments are going to find "workers" -- that's not their problem. They build it, get paid and move on. The business owners are going to struggle with those issues and will have to provide some kind of living arrangement for their staffs unless they intend on paying "SoWal living wages and benefits." As new businesses and resort complexes continue to flood into the area, they cannibalize the staffs of older established businesses--business owners must learn to think twice about how well they treat their current employees.