BEACHBAG
ONE YEAR REPORT CARD:
Grand Boulevard at Sandestin® Tenants Performing Well
$250 million mixed-use town center attracts nationally-recognized brands debuting in region
In a commercial retail market that has seen its share of unpredictability
and incertitude, Grand Boulevard at Sandestin®, the $250 million Town
Center development located on Northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, is bucking
the trend. Phase Two of the mixed-use project - the Town Center - opened
its first store just one year ago in March 2007. Over the past year, 22 retail
stores and restaurants have opened in this phase and preliminary sales figures
show sales per square foot exceeding the national average by almost 50
percent, based on most recent published industry figures.
IMAGE AWARD
Grand Boulevard at Sandestin®’s
marketing and public relations team
was recently recognized at the local
Florida Public Relations Association’s Image Awards ceremony for
the launch and branding of the new
Town Center. The team was presented with the Award of Distinction
which is presented to entries that
meet the standard of excellence
set by a panel of judges. The Image
Awards competition is conducted
annually by FPRA to recognize outstanding public relations programs.
From left to right: Myra Williams, vice
president of marketing for Howard
Group; Stacey Brady, proprietor of
Stacey Brady Consultancy; Angela
Triplett, public relations manager
for Howard Group; Elaine Ashman,
marketing director for Grand
Boulevard and president of
Northwest Florida’s FPRA Chapter.
From its inception,
Grand Boulevard’s Town
Center, with its pedestrian-friendly design, world-class
architecture and lushly
landscaped grounds, has
been able to attract highly-prized retail and restaurant
brands. Among them are
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, The
Orvis Company and Tommy
Bahama’s Tropical Caf_ &
Emporium. Two retail store
models of existing successful brands are J.Cr
ew-at-the-beach - one of only six
in the world - and Brooks
Brothers Country Club, the
first store location of its
new country club model.
Five nationally-recognized
restaurants have made
their Northwest Florida
debut within the 52-acre
development.
Phase One of Grand
Boulevard is called the
Community Retail section
which opened in 2003. Taking advantage of the close
proximity to the adjacent,
award-winning Sandestin®
Golf and Beach Resort,
the Community Retail
section includes convenient
resort amenities such as a Publix Food & Pharmacy and borders Sacred Heart
Hospital on the Emerald Coast, a long-term partner of Grand Boulevard’s. The
hospital, which opened in 2003, also shares the distinctive contemporary
Mediterranean architecture of Grand Boulevard, giving the length of the
complex a visual cohesiveness and consistency.
All of Phases One and Two are either complete or in design for final
build-out and are 90% leased and/or in operation, according to John Heiser,
executive vice-president for Howard Group, the developer of Grand Boulevard
at Sandestin®. The combined two phases total 436,253 square feet. Upon
completion, the project may encompass up to four built phases and total ap-
proximately 830,000 square feet.
“Over the next three years we plan to complete the remaining phases of
development which will consist of our mixed-use product including retail, res-
taurants, entertainment, offices as well as over 500 hotel and luxury residential
units,” says Heiser.
Two Marriott properties opened in Grand Boulevard in 2006. A 174-room
Courtyard by Marriott Sandestin® and a 120-room Residence Inn by Marriott
Sandestin® border the western end of the development.
Projected positive long-term area growth opportunities, highly desir-
able demographics and the exceptional quality of the project are most often
cited as giving Grand Boulevard the edge in recruiting premium tenants.
Located just east of Destin in Northwest Florida, directly between Pensacola
and Panama City, Grand Boulevard is a premiere destination within a popular
vacation area and market for secondary homeowners. The area is renowned for
its award-winning beaches and is consistently named a top vacation spot in
the country.
There are other favorable geographic and market inducements as well.
The Northwest Florida Gulf Coast region is the second-most traveled-to area of
Florida, behind Orlando, according to recent market research. Nearby Panama
City/Bay County International Airport is under construction and scheduled to
open in 2010. It will be the first new airport in the U.S. since the 9/11 tragedy
in 2001.
The Orvis Company, one of the country’s most well-known and respected
sports and leisure lifestyle retailers opened its first Florida location in Grand
Boulevard in April 2007. Occupying a little more than10,300 square feet, it is
one of its largest retailers and anchors the east end of the Town Center.
“We also saw and believed in the quality of the project that Howard Group
was building and it matched the Orvis brand standards perfectly. We feel that
this has been an excellent test for a resort location,” says George Haskins,
director of Real Estate for The Orvis Company.
“Though we were one of the first to open and have not been open a year
yet, we are already meeting company expectations and very satisfied with our
decision,” says Haskins.
