“The south end is where the growth is.” Walton Superintendent of Schools, Carlene Anderson, told the School Board in a workshop to review facility needs, not only is there growth in the south end, but Freeport is also seeing growth. She admitted Mossy Head did not grow as projected, but promised that growth will come over time. Anderson pressed the need for a new elementary.
Walton School District Director of Facilites, Mark Gardner, told the Board that growth has resumed in Walton County. He said major factors are substantial increases in residential development. Gardner says approximately 90-100 residential dwellings are becoming available for occupancy monthly. He says the new buyers tend to be younger families with school-age children.
Gardner also explained that subdivisions platted nearly ten years ago are now being developed and building out. D.R. Horton and other developers have made this region a top priority of their business development plan. St. Joe has unveiled a fifty-year development that focuses on Southwestern Bay County and Southeastern Walton County. The St. Joe development is targeting “Active Seniors” communities, which will require a service element of residents to support these communities.
Gardner also said Hammock Bay in Freeport has become a hot bed of new residential homes. He said there are over sixty new single-family homes under construction.
Showing presentation slides, that are viewable on our website, Gardner said the 50-Year Development Plan is for 110,500 Acres, with Bay: 97,216 Acres (88%) and Walton: 13,284 Acres (12%). This equates to 38,380 Residential Units; 4.15 Million Square Feet Non-Residential
School growth was presented as:
South Walton Area Schools 968 (81%)
Freeport Schools 135 (11%)
DeFuniak Springs Schools 50 (4%)
Mossy Head School 6 (0.5%)
Gardner gave recommendations including:
Walton School District Director of Facilites, Mark Gardner, told the Board that growth has resumed in Walton County. He said major factors are substantial increases in residential development. Gardner says approximately 90-100 residential dwellings are becoming available for occupancy monthly. He says the new buyers tend to be younger families with school-age children.
Gardner also explained that subdivisions platted nearly ten years ago are now being developed and building out. D.R. Horton and other developers have made this region a top priority of their business development plan. St. Joe has unveiled a fifty-year development that focuses on Southwestern Bay County and Southeastern Walton County. The St. Joe development is targeting “Active Seniors” communities, which will require a service element of residents to support these communities.
Gardner also said Hammock Bay in Freeport has become a hot bed of new residential homes. He said there are over sixty new single-family homes under construction.
Showing presentation slides, that are viewable on our website, Gardner said the 50-Year Development Plan is for 110,500 Acres, with Bay: 97,216 Acres (88%) and Walton: 13,284 Acres (12%). This equates to 38,380 Residential Units; 4.15 Million Square Feet Non-Residential
School growth was presented as:
South Walton Area Schools 968 (81%)
Freeport Schools 135 (11%)
DeFuniak Springs Schools 50 (4%)
Mossy Head School 6 (0.5%)
Gardner gave recommendations including:
- Freeport Elementary School - Build 6 / 8 classroom addition
- New Elementary School on Forest View property
- Bay Elementary School - Convert to Pre-K Center
- New Intermediate School (4-8) on Hammock Bay property
- Freeport Middle School – Convert to ESE centralized services
- Emerald Coast Middle School - Build additional classroom wings as needed
- South Walton High School – Build 9th grade academy as needed