Latitude Margaritaville Watersound wins seven awards at 2023 International Builders Show

Nathan Cobb, The News Herald
·3 min read

PANAMA CITY BEACH − A local Jimmy Buffett-themed community in Bay County continues to garner national attention.

According to Debbie Jones, vice president of marketing for Minto Communities USA, the company received eight awards at the 2023 International Builders Show in Las Vegas from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, seven of which were for Latitude Margaritaville Watersound.

Geared toward residents at least 55 years old, the community sits off State 79, north of Panama City Beach in unincorporated Bay County. It is being developed through a partnership between Minto, the St. Joe Company and Margaritaville Holdings.

Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, a Jimmy Buffett-themed community in Bay County, earned seven awards at the 2023 International Builders Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Latitude Margaritaville Watersound, a Jimmy Buffett-themed community in Bay County, earned seven awards at the 2023 International Builders Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"I think it's just another confirmation that the plan and the vision that we had for Latitude Margaritaville Watersound has been realized," Jones said. "It's wildly popular with homebuyers and with our residents who have already closed. ... It's nice to know that we're also getting recognized from the industry as well."

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The local community is the third Latitude location, with others in Daytona Beach and Hilton Head, South Carolina. It offers four styles of homes that range from about 1,200 square feet to more than 2,500 square feet. The cheapest models cost more than $300,000.

Construction on the local Latitude broke ground in 2020, and its homes hit the market in May 2021. Jones said Tuesday it has already sold almost 1,100 homes, with residents having moved into about 400 homes. More than 400 homes also are under construction.

A press release from Minto notes the seven awards it received for Latitude Margaritaville Watersound at the 2023 International Builders Show are:

  • A gold award for best brochure for a master planned community.

  • A gold award for best attached home up to 1,700 square feet.

  • A silver award for best long format video for the community's reception video.

  • A silver award for best welcome center.

  • A silver award for master planned community of the year.

  • A silver award for best attached home over 1,700 square feet.

  • A silver award for best brochure.

Minto's eighth award was a silver award for best lifestyle program for a community at Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach.

Jones said silver awards are given to finalists, and gold awards are given to the overall winners of each category. She also said there is no denying Latitude Margaritaville Watersound got off to a hotter start than both existing Latitude locations.

The local latitude is in its first phase of development, which boasts plans for 3,500 total homes. However, officials have said there is room in the surrounding area to build additional properties in the future.

"Right now, it's leading the other communities in terms of traffic and people visiting the welcome centers," Jones said. "We have a very exciting amenity program plan, and we've shown from the other two locations the lifestyle programming that we have is over-the-top."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: International Builders Show praises Latitude Margaritaville Watersound