Riverwalk, Freeport

[Busta Hustle]

can't believe you guys are dissing a fellow realtor and local developer as well as our beloved freeport...i see marina village doing some marketing as well...why this year alone realtors have teamed up to sell 14 or so lots in freeport year to date:funn:

 

[Smiling JOe]

I'm not dissing the Realtor/developer, nor Freeport. I've had the full tour of Riverwalk, and I absolutely love it! You don't know a thing about it from driving down 331, because it really is a hidden gem. I am laughing at the marketing company's choice of description for other Great Southern developments, and find it difficult to believe that a five star hotel will work in Freeport in the next ten years. As for that average price of $262K per lot, that sounds higher than they were originally asking in the peak of the market of 2005, when you could reserve a lot at $125K. For some reason, no lots are showing as pending in the mls.

 

[Bobby J]

No dissing here. My wife is from Freeport. I love the area but openly feel until they improve the infrastructure it will be a problem selling at any price.

 

[beachmouse]

Great Southern's website prose is purple enough that it could lose them buyers who don't want to buy into a development as, um, Emerald Grande-like as they're describing it.

 

[Busta Hustle]

I know you guys are just having some fun and rightfully so...don't ever make the mistake of taking my comments on this site to seriously...Freeport "developers" have some very lofty goals...unfortunately the locals like an acre or so and a trailer or just a nice, safe neighborhood with a few amenities (Hammock Bay) : and we'll all probably be long gone before freeport is a "destination lifestyle location"...heck you can buy a lot overlooking a pond and the 16th green at Windswept for $59K...

 

[Matt J]

I'm not dissing the Realtor/developer, nor Freeport. I've had the full tour of Riverwalk, and I absolutely love it! You don't know a thing about it from driving down 331, because it really is a hidden gem. I am laughing at the marketing company's choice of description for other Great Southern developments, and find it difficult to believe that a five star hotel will work in Freeport in the next ten years. As for that average price of $262K per lot, that sounds higher than they were originally asking in the peak of the market of 2005, when you could reserve a lot at $125K. For some reason, no lots are showing as pending in the mls.

A lot of people giggled, laughed, and outright gafawed when St. Joe announced WaterColor. That 5 star seems to be working out pretty good. ;-)

 

[beachmouse]

Though WaterColor had a lot going for it- not too many big parcels of developable Gulf front land left, and in between Seaside and a classic old Florida beach town.

Freeport's a more difficult nut to crack- a significant drive to the beach, and a half dozen big to massively huge developments all comepting with each other for what's a relatively small number of current buyers. If you add up all the plats, the area starts to sound like Palm Coast or a non-age-restricted The Villages.

I think in order for all or even most the projects to succeed, they need some sort of joint national advertising push that would place the area into peoples' minds as an attractive alternate to the above two cities/megadevelopments.

 

[Bobby J]

They just need grocery stores.

 

[Matt J]

Though WaterColor had a lot going for it- not too many big parcels of developable Gulf front land left, and in between Seaside and a classic old Florida beach town.

Freeport's a more difficult nut to crack- a significant drive to the beach, and a half dozen big to massively huge developments all comepting with each other for what's a relatively small number of current buyers. If you add up all the plats, the area starts to sound like Palm Coast or a non-age-restricted The Villages.

I think in order for all or even most the projects to succeed, they need some sort of joint national advertising push that would place the area into peoples' minds as an attractive alternate to the above two cities/megadevelopments.

I do agree with most of that, but how many 5 star hotels in the panhandle have the option of docking your 160 foot yacht? Although if I had one of those I wouldn't worry about a hotel. Just saying that a boutique (sp?) hotel similar to the WaterColor Inn might work.

 

[Smiling JOe]

I would love for a five star hotel to be successful in Freeport in the next ten years, because that will mean many things have changed, including having staff in Freeport, who can sell wine in a fine dining restaurant, rather than order takers. It will also mean that the real estate market and vacation market will have shifted. I'm 100% for a successful five star hotel in Freeport, I just don't see it happening in the next ten years. I think Freeport will be a very different place in twenty years, so it has to have stepping stones to get there -- maybe this is it.