DESTIN 2034: As city turns 25, what will we look like at age 50? (RENDERINGS)

A Destin High School. A loss of local businesses. More tourists. Skyscrapers. High-paying local jobs. And legalized gambling.

To see what Destin might look like on its 50th anniversary, The Log asked a number of local residents what they expect to see in the Destin of 2034 (not everyone surveyed answered, and not everyone answered every question). Here are the responses:

What will be the biggest change in the Destin of 2034?
Jurate Burns, library director: I see transportation methods changing dramatically by 2034. We will have a more walkable community, already underway through the enactment of our multi-modal ordinances. We will have mass transit available throughout the county, so that individuals don’t have to drive cars to get everywhere. Life will be simpler for elderly people when this reliance on automobiles is decreased.
The Crystal Beach library branch will be exceeding the main library in program attendance and circulation of materials. Technological advances will reduce the number of computers necessary in both libraries, but revenue from fines for wet and sandy books will be increasing.
Shane Moody, Destin Area Chamber of Commerce president/CEO:I think the look of the harbor will be the biggest change in 2034.  Not because there will be high rise after high rise — I don't think that will be the case.  I think there will be a truly walkable community there, both waterfront and road front. I think you'll see Harbor Boulevard completely rerouted, maybe even including Mountain Drive as the one-way west-bound lane, with the current 98 being the one way east-bound lane.
I think the city will be forced into this kind of thing due to the amount of traffic because of the success of redevelopment in the harbor CRA.  I think the boardwalk along the harbor will be bustling with activity, the likes of which none of us can imagine now.
Cassidy Broady, Destin Youth Council: Hopefully, by then, there will be a Destin High School.
Harrison Freeman, Destin Youth Council: I think it will be a bigger tourist destination than it is currently with an increase of 50 percent.
City Councilor Jim Bagby: Casino gambling.
City Councilor Jim Wood: Full implementation of the recently passed multi-modal ordinance/concept. Annexation of the unincorporated areas of Okaloosa County south of the bay into the city of Destin.
Jake Loken, Destin Youth Council: I believe that there will be much larger buildings, mainly skyscrapers. Also Destin will become an even larger tourist attraction, due to the powerful hurricanes that will destroy New Orleans. Also, there will be a Destin High School.

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As part of our annual Progress Edition, The Log is throwing an early 25th birthday party for the city of Destin. Saturday's paper you will find a special 16-page section called “Destination Incorporation,” which chronicles that shift from small town to big city. The paper is full of retrospectives, analyses, flashbacks and memories of those bygone “Good Old Days.” The journey continues online at The Destin History Project, where you find loads of stories, photos and opinions.

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What will have disappeared by then?
Moody: I’m not sure what will have disappeared, but I think some of the older existing buildings will be gone in the older parts of town and replaced with newer ones. There will be a much more modern look, but who knows what “modern” will look like in 25 years.
Broady: I think the beaches will be smaller because of the growth of infrastructure.
Freeman: I think many of the small businesses will disappear.
Bagby: Affordable housing and the middle class.
Wood: The over-reliance on the automobile as the primary or in many cases the sole means of transportation by many in and around Destin.
Loken: Older restaurants will be replaced by larger chain restaurants. There will be more ‘cookie cutter’ housing residences. Overall land size will be decreased due to global warming.

What will someone from today still be able to recognize?
Burns: Someone from today should be able to recognize most of our physical features, such as the harbor. 25 years is just a blink of an eye in geological time.
Moody: Dewey Destin's, Harbor Docks, The Boathouse. Can you really see any of that going away? It won’t be the same people running and managing them, but those staples are here to stay. The beaches will still be recognizable as well.  And though it may be shifted by the tides in 25 years, Crab Island will probably still be the hangout. Wonder what the boats will look like then?
Broady: Norriego Point.
Freeman: The landmark condos will be there — the Emerald Grande will mark the harbor.
Bagby: Crab Island.
Wood: The emerald green/blue water and the white sands of our world class beaches.
Loken: Destin Commons will still remain a large landmark, as will the theme park Big Kahuna's.

What will be the best thing about living in Destin?
Moody: The same thing as today, the quality of life. Many of the people who live here now moved here for the quality of life. Those are the types of people who will make sure we maintain it. I don’t think that will ever change.
Too many people love and care about Destin to lose the quality of life we have.
Broady: All the attractions and things to do.
Freeman: The qualities of a small town make Destin a great place to live, work and go to school. People are friendly, it is clean and relatively safe, and schools are outstanding.
Bagby: The beaches.
Wood: The Harbor/Beach and a strong fishing fleet to ensure our heritage and environment and those parts of Destin i.e. “The Church of Destin” and all of the participating entities that contribute to our community in a positive way.
Loken: Due to the skyscrapers, companies will have their headquarters here, so high paying jobs will be easily available.

What will be the city's top asset?
Moody: The same as today, the Destin harbor. Something that special and unique has a strong life. The business center of Destin will have shifted back to the harbor district. It will be the heartbeat of the city.
Broady: The beaches.
Freeman: The beaches and fishing industry make Destin unique.
Bagby: The beaches.
Wood: The Harbor/Fishing Fleet/beaches.
Loken: Destin High School.

What will be the biggest problem?
Moody: The same as today, economic diversity. While I think there will be some new businesses here, the reliance on tourism will still be dominant. I think that growth management of today is key to the success of the city 25 years from now, and I hope that we can make some strides over the next 10 years to build an economic base that is not so reliant on tourists. We love them, and cannot be happier that they love coming here. But we need to move in a direction of recruiting newer types of businesses to this community.
Broady: Overpopulation.
Freeman: Making sure development does not eliminate our small town atmosphere.
Bagby: Inequities in what the state and federal government collect in taxes in Destin and what they return to Destin.
Wood: A stove-piped economic system overly reliant on tourism as a sole means to prosperity.
Loken: Crime, because Destin will become large city and if we do not have our own police force, crime will run rampant.

What would you like to see the city accomplish by then that you don’t think will happen?
Moody: This is a tough one, but I'll stick with my answer above — economic diversity.
Broady: Getting a high school.
Freeman: More beach access.
Bagby: Light rail; Destin County that incorporates South Walton and Okaloosa Island.
Wood: Get the School Board to approve a Destin High School. More recycling in Destin to include business recycling.
Loken: I would like to see a building ordinance code that makes all of the new buildings be a certain type of a architecture, preferably ‘Old Florida Spanish Style’ architecture.

What do you hope won't happen by then?
Moody: It's hard to anticipate negative development, but I think allowing nothing but high rise condos and hotels along the harbor and/or the beachfront would be devastating. It's possible to have redevelopment without that. Destin isn't a city or destination that needs that, nor can Destin handle it, not without a lot of infrastructure improvements. And even then I'm not sure it would work. As Kevin Bowyer, our 2006 chairman said, growth is inevitable, quality growth is imperative.
Broady: I know that Destin is going to be overgrown.
Freeman: I think it will be hard for some of our local small businesses to keep pace with some of the chain stores that move into the area. We will lose some of our local flavor if we lose these types of businesses.
Bagby: Our working harbor getting crowded out by super yachts.
Wood: We will end up with unreasonable and irresponsible development on our harbor.
Loken: Global warming won't cause the flooding of Destin.