Making the Destin Harbor Boardwalk Happen: A Public/Private Partnership Reality

A working waterfront seems to have an intriguing effect on the public with its own array of sights and sounds. When the public has the opportunity to experience it, the experience can be unusual and memorable - nothing like the typical public park and/or sidewalk. Destin, Florida is home to the largest fishing fleet in Florida with a working waterfront along the Destin Harbor (Harbor). The City of Destin (City) has spent the past ten years working with property owners along the Harbor to collaboratively plan and build a Destin Harbor Boardwalk for the public. In June 2012, the City successfully opened the first phase of the Boardwalk by obtaining easements from property owners and creatively planning, designing, and constructing the improvements to meet available funding while maintaining a working waterfront. The City and property owners went through a series of design and easement meetings where a variety of issues and concerns were discussed. Project elements were tweaked numerous times with one primary goal - preserve the public's access while retaining the working waterfront. By January 2012, the design was accepted, a contractor had been awarded the construction contract and executed easements between the City and property owners were in hand. With the cooperation of both the property owners and City, construction on Phase I of the Boardwalk was completed June 2012. This paper describes the critical steps and pieces attributing to the success of the project at each phase - master plan, design and permitting, easement acquisition, and construction. It also includes aspects of the pedestrian easement negotiations including public access, right to closure, construction, insurance, liability, maintenance and repairs.