Massive Vision, Limited Time: Destin’s Funding Challenge

Destin’s Towncenter Visioning Master Plan includes projects like a new city hall, a historic fishing village, and a waterfront park. The plan also addresses the heavy traffic issues that plague Destin with the Cross Town Connector.

But several questions remain for the city, including how it will obtain the money required to make the vision become a reality. 

The Funding Gap

The Destin Community Redevelopment Agency (Town Center CRA) was created in 1998 and has operated for 30 years. The CRA is funded through tax increment financing. Tax increment financing basically means that as property values rise in the district, the additional tax revenue is captured and reinvested in that same area. The model has been under fire from the state legislature for several years, and several attempts have been made to ban its use. 

Destin’s CRA expires on March 2, 2028. Once it sunsets, its dedicated tax increment funding ends, and revenue returns to general taxing authorities. Without a replacement funding strategy, the Master Plan could face delays or major changes – or become financially impossible.

While other funding avenues are available to sustain the estimated 15-year project, a funding gap remains. The CRA has already funded $18M towards roads, drainage, and infrastructure projects. While this work demonstrates the CRA can fund major projects, it does not show how the city of Destin will realistically cover the estimated $65M required to complete its Master Plan. 

Finding Blight

With the CRA’s expiration looming, Destin will likely vote to extend it. This extension will require new findings of “blight.” This basically means Destin will need to prove (again) that this area, which includes run-down areas such as the Target shopping center, Big Kahuna’s, Chick-fil-A, and the Gulf Terrace Condominiums, still struggles enough to justify special funding powers. 

That creates a difficult balancing act. If the CRA has been successful in raising property values and improving infrastructure, it may be harder to prove the area remains “blighted,” making an extension less likely. If a finding shows the area is still blighted, it could imply the CRA funding mechanism was a failure for this area. An unsuccessful CRA extension ultimately leaves the Master Plan vision facing a major funding gap. 

Destin city officials say they aim to transform the roughly 50 acres north of U.S. 98 into a walkable, mixed-use district centered on quality of life.