Gulf Place Officially a TDC Beach Neighborhood

[Ohio Girl]

Hmmm ... I missed this

Inducted September 2012, Gulf Place has officially become the 16th beach neighborhood in South Walton. In addition to public beach access, shopping, dining, and wide array of accommodations, Gulf Place fosters creativity and is quickly becoming a must-see arts destination along Scenic Highway 30A, already well known for its vibrant cultural identity.

 

[Teresa]

SoWal.com home page story (Oct 2012)...
http://sowal.com/story/gulf-place-approved-as-official-beach-neighborhood-by-walton-county
click in for photo gallery

Gulf Place Approved as Official Beach Neighborhood by Walton County

Gulf Place, at the corner of Scenic 30A and Scenic 393, has been added to the list of beach neighborhoods by the South Walton Tourist Development Council (TDC). The Walton County Board of County Commissioners approved the move at a recent meeting.
Adding Gulf Place to signs and other marketing materials will cost an estimated $250,000.

The report below is by Dotty Nist for SoWal.com Partner, The Beach Breeze:
Gulf Place has been designated as one of the South Walton Tourist Development Council’s (TDC) “Visit South Walton” beach communities.

The decision took place at the TDC’s Sept. 11 regular quarterly meeting at the Bayou Arts Center, after considerable discussion among the council members and public comment from a number of Gulf Place residents and business people.
After Gulf Place’s request last December to be included as a TDC beach community, the TDC had established criteria for the addition of beach communities to their list.

Among the criteria are inclusion of a public beach access, frontage on the gulf, a civic area, and tourist rental accommodations. The designation of beach communities is for marketing purposes only.

Cindy Stenberg, Gulf Place association manager, made the case that Gulf Place was the “beach side” of Santa Rosa Beach and that the community deserved to be included on the TDC’s beach communities.

“We’re a community,” agreed Patti Schlotterlein of the Artists at Gulf Place. She noted that Gulf Place is a “gathering place,” also featuring housing, retail, and a local pharmacy.

TDC member Richard Veldman observed, “Santa Rosa Beach doesn’t have a beach identify in most people’s minds,” However, he pointed out a problem with three beach communities (Dune Allen, Santa Rosa Beach, and Blue Mountain Beach) already being designated as TDC beach communities within a stretch of just a few miles.

Dwight Ward of the Artists at Gulf Place suggested solving the problem by removing Santa Rosa Beach from the list of beach communities and replacing it with Gulf Place.

“Santa Rosa Beach doesn’t exist except for the post office,” TDC member Harry Millsaps commented. He noted that properties between Sandestin and Camp Creek Road all carry the Santa Rosa Beach zip code, and that east of that point as far as Inlet Beach there is a Panama City Beach zip code.

TDC member Steven Hilliard suggested having the TDC’s new advertising agency take a look at whether Santa Rosa Beach is really a beach community or “just a zip code.”

Dawn Moliterno, TDC executive director, noted that in the past there had been different numbers of TDC beach communities, at one time 18, then 13, now 15. Prior to the current TDC there had been no established standards for which communities would be included, she said. Moliterno said the communities are not marketed individually but as part of “Visit South Walton.”

Currently Miramar Beach, Seascape, Sandestin, Dune Allen, Santa Rosa Beach, Blue Mountain, Grayton Beach, WaterColor, Seaside, Seagrove, WaterSound, Seacrest, Alys Beach, Rosemary Beach, and Inlet Beach are listed.

A motion to replace the designation of Santa Rosa Beach as a beach community with Gulf Place failed in a tie vote, with some members abstaining from the vote.

Approved with no nay votes was a second motion to include Gulf Place and have the new advertising agency evaluate whether or not to delete Santa Rosa Beach from the beach community list, plus evaluate whether the right number of beach communities are currently designated.

 

[Jenksy]

Adding Gulf Place to signs and other marketing materials will cost an estimated $250,000.

I haven't heard anyone complaining about this expense. :huh:

 

[Andy A]

Yeah, I'd like to see the source, too. $250,000 sounds awfully high to me. But then I tend to think in the tens and hundreds as that is where my financial acumen lies.

 

[unclecarl]

I'm not sure I understand what is to happen to Santa Rosa Beach if it is "just a zip code?"

 

[Kurt]

Yeah, I'd like to see the source, too. $250,000 sounds awfully high to me. But then I tend to think in the tens and hundreds as that is where my financial acumen lies.

That is what I was told.

 

[Kurt]

I'm not sure I understand what is to happen to Santa Rosa Beach if it is "just a zip code?"

Interesting question that brings a lot of shrugs.

Santa Rosa Beach is the term for the general area, since that has always been the overall zip code place name. And Santa Rosa was the original settlement on Hogtown Bayou. However we have lots of postal place names now. Inlet Beach and some of the other towns on the east end have a postal address of Panama City Beach. Does that make them part of Panama City Beach?

Some say all of our beachfront could be called Santa Rosa Beach. In practice though Santa Rosa Beach's actual beachfront was from the western end of Blue Mountain Beach somewhere around Guffview Heights Access (behind Goatfeather's) to the eastern end of Dune Allen, near the Santa Rosa Beach & Golf Club (more confusion). Now it seems that Blue Mountain Beach may extend to Gulf Place at Hwy 393.

Santa Rosa Beach has become marginalized and probably will continue to be. One day if this area incorporates, Santa Rosa Beach will likely be in the running as an official city name.

 

[Mango]

That's like trying to change New York, New York. When people ask, that is how I explain it. This is, in all likelihood, about someone complaining, who has deep pockets, because they think they may have an unfair advantage advertising their rental property or for Gulf Place to gain an edge. Who gave the TDC such large powers to change the name of incorporated beach communities?
Are we to now pay big advertising bucks for Gulf Place's name to be advertised on the premise that people have small, pea brains?

 

[PearlSB4U]

The name "Santa Rosa Beach" is also problematic in that Pensacola is in Santa Rosa County & looks out over Santa Rosa Sound toward Santa Rosa Island.
When we've told folks that we live in Santa Rosa Beach, they often assume we're in the Pensacola area.

 

[James Bentwood]

That's like trying to change New York, New York. When people ask, that is how I explain it. This is, in all likelihood, about someone complaining, who has deep pockets, because they think they may have an unfair advantage advertising their rental property or for Gulf Place to gain an edge. Who gave the TDC such large powers to change the name of incorporated beach communities?
Are we to now pay big advertising bucks for Gulf Place's name to be advertised on the premise that people have small, pea brains?

Not sure what you mean about the new york comment.

But the TDC is not changing place names, just adding them to marketing. AND there are no incorporated towns in SoWal. Pea brain indeed.

I believe the vendors at Gulf Place lobbied for the distinction to improve their visibility. The request caused the TDC to flesh out their rules as to what is a beach town and who should be allowed to be added in the future. their is a thread about it somewhere here.