Real Estate Blog

It isn’t every day that a 2400-acre beach-to-bay resort on Northwest Florida’s emerald coast turns fifty! Located in Florida’s panhandle on the peninsula right between Santa Rosa Beach and Destin, it shouldn’t be too hard to guess where the name Sandestin® came from. Today, Sandestin® may sit right in the middle of everything, but not so long ago, it felt more like a tropical outpost or an idyllic settlement at the edge of beachy civilization.

The Sandestin® as we know it today wasn’t always “destined” to be a world-class residential golf and beach resort. Let’s look at how it got here!

The land was originally purchased for crops and livestock, but during WWII the military requisitioned a large portion of the gulf side property to research captured “Buzz Bomb” missiles from the Germans. The very first military use of American rockets were also tested and launched over the Gulf from top secret hidden bunkers located on the resort that can still be seen today, if you know where to look.

In the 1950s, the land was sold to Winthrop Rockefeller, who went on to become the Governor of Arkansas, ultimately derailing his plans to develop the land into a coastal neighborhood. A few years later, a man by the name of, Walt Disney, almost bought the land for an idea he was playing around with called “Disney World.” His plans moved forward, but just a bit further south. In ‘70s, the owners of the Indianapolis Speedway attempted to buy the land to create something they dubbed the “Seaside Racetrack.” Eventually, the land fell into the hands of developers with a vision of building a resort community. They borrowed the “San” from the unincorporated area known as Santa Rosa Beach to the east and mashed it together with “Destin” to the west. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sandestin’s first golf course, The Links, was completed in 1974, along with residential neighborhoods and a hotel on the bay which is now known as Bayside at Sandestin®. In the early 80’s the marina, Baytowne Golf Course and a beachside high rise were completed.

The 90's brought the completion of the popular Marina Bar and Grill, the professional Tennis Club, additional neighborhoods and the prestigious Burnt Pine Golf Course. The Village of Baytowne Wharf also went into development and is now the town center of Sandestin®, filled with festive restaurants, world-class shopping, activities and annual events.

Today, Sandestin® is home to over seventy distinct neighborhoods, spanning more than 2,400 acres of land between the Choctawhatchee Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s all interconnected by miles of pedestrian, bike and golf cart paths that weave through groves of live oaks, meandering past natural lagoons, fountains, man-made lakes, and meticulously landscaped fairways of four award-winning golf courses, including Raven, Baytowne, The Links and the exclusive private golf course, Burnt Pine. Not to mention thousands of unique vacation rentals throughout the resort, from the beach to the bay. Sandestin® welcomes thousands of families each year to experience the resort and make cherished memories that will last a lifetime.