There is no doubt that the Emerald Coast of Florida is a beautiful place to visit and enjoy a vacation. The area continually wins major travel accolades for Best Beaches/Parks, Best Family Vacations, Best Inns/Hotels and Emerging Destinations. The area is also the home to several top military bases as well as defense and cybersecurity businesses. A lot of retiring and separating military members choose to live in the area for the beauty as well as a vast array of employment opportunities.

In the last few years, the Panhandle counties and cities have been developing several new commerce and business parks. The exciting growth includes a new business park development in Walton County. The NW Florida Commerce Park is one mile south of DeFuniak Springs. The Walton County Economic Development Agency has already contracted with three businesses to be located in the park. One business is a truss manufacturer, the second is a manufactured home business, and the third is a drone manufacturer.

Milton, FL in Santa Rosa County, has a new aviation park that is almost finished with phase one construction. The Whiting Aviation Park, which is adjacent to Naval Air Station Whiting Field, has announced that its first official tenant will be the international aerospace company, Leonardo. Leonardo will be building a 100,000 SF customer support center.

In Bay County, outside of Panama City, Latitude Margaritaville Watersound’s 55+ retirement community has just opened its sales center and 13 model homes. The community will have a town center with sports areas, pool, a community service center, amphitheater and a restaurant. Other future businesses will be developed outside the main entrance. The NW Florida Beaches International Airport is an easy ride from the community allowing easy access for travel for both locals and visitors.

Come visit the Emerald Coast and see what we have to offer for living, working and playing. Be your own boss!