New Destin park getting 122-foot pier
DESTIN — The City Council recently gave a Panama City company the green light to add several amenities to the shoreline at the future Captain Leonard Destin Park, which might open by next summer.
The 3.42-acre park site at 101 Calhoun Ave. overlooks Choctawhatchee Bay. The site was the homestead of Capt. Leonard Destin, who was the first person to settle in Destin in the mid-19th century.
The council on Nov. 19 unanimously approved an application by Reliant South Construction Group to build a 122-foot-long access pier with railings, install a kayak launch area, remove a wooden seawall and add erosion-preventing riprap at the park.
The approval of the application came with a requirement to add a white navigation/security night light on the farthest point seaward of the pier. The light will be illuminated continuously from dusk to dawn throughout the year, according to city information.
“Is the light going to be big enough to attract trout and red fish?” Councilman Tuffy Dixon asked in jest at the council meeting.
Working on behalf of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, the nonprofit Trust for Public Land bought the property for the park in 2016. Once the park is fully developed, the Trust plans to donate it to the city.
Land grading, stormwater upgrades and other work began at the site in August.
Amenities that are planned to be added later include a public beach access, splash pad, picnic pavilions, restrooms, outdoor showers, a boardwalk through the site’s great blue heron rookery, a parking lot and a model of the seine boat that Leonard Destin captained.
The total park project cost is about $10 million, according to Kate Brown, senior project manager at the Trust for Public Land.
The overall cost consists of land purchase and park development expenses, as well as more than $900,000 that the Trust plans to give to the city to cover 10 years worth of operating and maintenance costs.
The park's designs are being provided by DAG Architects of Destin and Wood + Partners Inc., which has an office in Tallahassee.