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•📍 Okaloosa County purchased the former Red Lobster property in Fort Walton Beach for $3.5 million using tourism tax funds.
•🏛️ Officials are considering multiple uses for the site, including a museum for the SS United States, a tourism hub, and an event space.
•🔍 No final decision has been made yet, but commissioners see the property as a key asset for both visitors and locals.
What’s the former Red Lobster in Fort Walton Beach going to become?
No one really knows just yet, though Okaloosa County’s Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to purchase the land at their April 1 board meeting. There are still plenty of options on the table – just not lobster at a distressingly low price point.
“I think this is a great opportunity, with this particular piece of property,” said County Commissioner Trey Goodwin (R – Fort Walton Beach), “I think it’s a really great opportunity to continue to serve the tourism function, which it’ll do, but I also think it’ll provide an amenity for locals to enjoy as well.”
Deputy County Commissioner Craig Coffey floated six options for the building, which they purchased from the previous owner for $3.5 Million with tourism development tax money. They include:
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The land has 50 feet of waterfront land on the Santa Rosa Sound and includes a building with about two acres of land around it in total.
He noted that the building is older, but had been ‘well-maintained’ and includes more than 100 parking spaces. It previously sold in 2023 for 3.4 million and was appraised at a value of $3.75 Million.
Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel (R – Shalimar) gave the lone ‘no’ vote on the county’s decision to purchase the SS United States, but made it known in the discussions before the vote to purchase the land that she would like to see the museum about the ship the County promised to create as a part of their purchase agreement on the property. Ketchel said that the “free money” from The County’s tourism development tax would be well-utilized on this project. “It’s a great way to memorialize this beautiful ship that we all watched go across the water. I can only imagine the majesty of it when it actually was functioning as a passenger ship. But what a great location to put a museum to honor this beautiful boat,” Ketchel said.
