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Inlet Beach: A hotbed of development activity

Scenic Highway 30A in Walton County is made up of a dozen or so communities that dot the 20-mile stretch of road — including laid-back Grayton Beach, white-stucco-washed Alys Beach and new urbanist Seaside and Rosemary Beach.

Tourists who travel the beachside road usually pass right through sleepy Inlet Beach on the east side of 30A. But that is changing quickly.“Inlet Beach has become a hotbed of development activity over the last 18 months, as has most of south Walton County,” says Mac Carpenter, the county’s planning manager.

Among the projects:

> 30Avenue, the town’s most ambitious project, is a 130,000-sq.-ft. development under construction on 16 acres just north of Rosemary Beach that will house a mix of retail, restaurants and offices “that will support locals and tourists alike,” says 30Avenue developer Corr Group President Bryan Corr.

The property is on track to open in the winter, and the second phases will open late spring of 2015.

> The Crossings at Inlet Beach, also known as Inlet Beach Commons, is another commercial retail center slated to begin opening stores by next year. The center will consist of 17,335 square feet of retail space.

> The Donut Hole cafe and bakery, with locations in Santa Rosa Beach and Destin, opened its third location in Inlet Beach earlier this year.

> Inn on The Gulf, under construction, will be a 125-room limited lodging facility and restaurant.

> Idyll Hounds Brewery, a 7,500-sq.-ft. commercial building, will operate a brewery and bottling and warehouse facility for wholesale distribution.

> Residential construction is also under way. Lupin Beach, from the developers of Alys Beach, will be starting soon on the easternmost beachfront parcel in Inlet Beach.30Avenue is under construction north of Rosemary Beach.

Business Briefs

CALHOUN COUNTY — The Northwest Florida Water Management District is providing a grant of nearly $410,000 to the Calhoun County Board of County Commissioners for the Pine Island Water System project, which will include construction of a new water distribution system for the residents of the Pine Island community.The funding was awarded as part of the district’s water supply development grant program. During its 2013-14 fiscal year, the district awarded nearly $10 million for 24 water supply projects across northwest Florida.

DESTIN — Legendary Marine merged with Atlanta-based Singleton Marine Group, making it one of the largest boating dealerships in the country. > Carr, Riggs & Ingram acquired Level Four Advisory Services, a national wealth management firm based in Texas.

JACKSON COUNTY — The Tri-State Megasite Alliance laid out plans for a new site at the Florida-Alabama state line in Jackson County aimed at attracting a major automobile manufacturer, creating 10,000 jobs and an impact of $833 million.

MILTON — Nike and Dow Chemical hired Milton-based recruiting and consulting firm Ropella Group, which is in the process of hiring several more employees.

OKALOOSA COUNTY — The Economic Development Council of Okaloosa County and the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors partnered to launch OkaloosaSites.com. The site provides demographics and industry breakdowns, along with a database of available properties with images.

PENSACOLA — Beck Property and McGraw Insurance Services merged to form Beck Partners.The firm has offices in Pensacola and Tallahassee and offers property management, brokerage and consulting services.

TALLAHASSEE — CareerSource Florida received a State Excellence Award for Leadership by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies for its statewide branding effort as 2014’s top workforce initiative.There are 24 workforce regions statewide.