Walton County Hosts 393 Municipal Parking Facility Ribbon Cutting

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. – Dec. 4 – The grand opening of the 393 Municipal Parking Facility was commemorated with a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by members of the Walton County Board of County Commissioners and Walton County Tourism and Beach Operations departments.

Walton County Board of County Commissioners and project partners cut the ribbon on the new 393 Municipal Parking Facility, located just a quarter mile from Ed Walline Regional Beach Access.

Located in the heart of Santa Rosa Beach, the new 393 Municipal Parking Facility provides a convenient, accessible hub for everyone exploring the area's beaches, dining and shopping. With the 2019 purchase of the 2.3-acre property for $3.7 million and a construction contract cost just over $2 million, the site has been transformed into a modern, multi-use transportation asset designed to ease congestion and enhance the overall visitor experience.

"It's very exciting to be able to give the community what they need, and what we all know we need is parking," said District Four County Commissioner Donna Johns. "It's one of the vital [and] important parts of everything here — not just get us to the beach, but for locals and tourists to safely park their cars."

The facility includes standard parking for 74 vehicles, including 71 regular spaces and three ADA-accessible spaces, along with a dedicated bike plaza. Additional guest conveniences include a dog watering station, a dog waste station and direct access to the multi-use path.

A 971-square-foot-public transit building was conducted on the lot, featuring a custom Kalwall Sky Roof with translucent panels that provide natural lighting. Walton County Beach Trams will operate a north-south route from the facility to Ed Walline Regional Beach Access every 10 minutes during service hours using new encolsed 14-passenger shuttles.

"It's a great design," said County Administrator Brian Kellenberger. "It fits into [our] plan [for South Walton] in providing more public beach access parking. It's also a key component of a future public transportation system."

This project is fully funded through a Tourism Department Tax, also known as bed-tax, which in south Walton County is a 5 percent tax collected on stays of six months or less in a short-term rental such as a hotel, condo, single-family home or campground. As a reminder, Walton County residents do not pay a bed-tax unless they are taking a "staycation" in a local accommodation.

For more information and project updates, please visit https://www.waltoncountyfltourism.com/projects/ or contact Beach Operations at (850) 267-4578.

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